Language Rights And Guarani Renaissance In Bolivia
Human Rights Dialogue: "Cultural Rights" (Spring 2005)
Bret Gustafson
In much of Latin America the idea that Indian languages are fit for any modern purpose is seen as absurd, even subversive. The 60,000 Bolivian Guarani, like most other indigenous peoples throughout Latin America, have been fighting this prejudice as part of a wider struggle for political equality. In Bolivia, state reforms defined by "interculturalism" hold some promise for indigenous peoples. However, the quest for robust cultural rights is ongoing, and the history of native languages is particularly illustrative of that quest in Latin America.
The Guarani language flourished for several thousand years across South America and survived five hundred years of violent colonialism. With speakers in Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, Guarani is still one of the largest indigenous language groups in South America. However, the language and its speakers find themselves increasingly displaced today. As Guarani land bases are reduced and communities are fragmented by migration and poverty, Guarani language has given way to Spanish, mirroring in some ways the fate of the people themselves.
The Guarani language flourished for several thousand years across South America and survived five hundred years of violent colonialism. With speakers in Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, Guarani is still one of the largest indigenous language groups in South America. However, the language and its speakers find themselves increasingly displaced today. As Guarani land bases are reduced and communities are fragmented by migration and poverty, Guarani language has given way to Spanish, mirroring in some ways the fate of the people themselves.
In Bolivia, elites long shared the Western idea that the path to modern nationhood required the unification of one people occupying one territory and speaking one language. With the expansion of public schooling after 1955, the country pursued this monolithic vision for fifty years, seeking to eradicate native languages and to impose Spanish in their stead. Reinforcing racist ideas about "Indian-ness," the effort stigmatized native language use and promoted cultural assimilation. Most Guarani remember their two or three years of schooling as a time of violence, fear, and silence. Today a bilingual teacher recalls trembling at the sight of white teachers. An elder recalls that "speaking out, especially in Guarani, would bring the stick." The imposition of Spanish was thus not just about the acquisition of a national language as a useful instrument, but about the negation of the indigenous right to exist as culturally distinct peoples.
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