Guatemala: A land of linguistic diversity
Guatemala is a land of rich linguistic and ethnic diversity. In addition to the national language of Spanish, there are approximately 23 spoken minority languages in the "Land of Eternal Spring." The ancient Mayans ruled the region for more than 2,500 years, leaving a heritage of 21 daughter tongues in Guatemala and more in Mexico.
Guatemala has four neighbors: Mexico to the north, Belize to the east and Honduras and El Salvador to the south. When the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado arrived in 1524, he helped assure animosities between Mayan tribes by winning the allegiance of the Kaqchikels and pitting them against the rest.
As a result of the slave trade, the Garifuna language reached Guatemala’s Caribbean shore. Xinca, a dying language, spoken by only a small number of elderly members, has an uncertain origin.
Today, Spanish dominates Guatemala’s commerce, government, religion and education, especially in the capital. But as a result of a growing population, the number of minority language speakers continues to grow. Of the 21 identified Mayan languages, 11 have multiple dialects. These 11 have 29 additional identified dialects.
Although bilingual education is mandated in Guatemala’s public schools, the reality remains far from the goal. Just the four largest languages – K’iché, Mam, Kaqchikel and Q’eqchí – offer bilingual schooling through at least the 3rd grade of primary school, according to the Commission to Officially Recognize the Indigenous Languages of Guatemala. Only an estimated 5 percent of Mayans are literate in their native language. Many of these people still have difficulty reading their language smoothly because they prefer face-to-face communication and don’t use their literacy skills on a daily basis thus keeping them sharp. An additional 5.9 million people do not have the ability to read and write in their mother tongue.
Some indigenous families in the larger cities have abandoned their mother tongue, often out of economic necessity or ambition. But the Mayan tongues remain strong in the remote, rural areas of Guatemala, where most people live among the cornfields they cultivate for their own survival. Here among the farmers, the Mayan languages are used in the fields, the homes, and the market.
"Guatemala’s government has attempted to encourage the maintenance of its linguistic diversity, passing laws that mandate bilingual education for children. As recently as May 26, 2003, the Congress passed a law mandating the promotion, use and development of Guatemala’s minority languages in education, as well as civic and cultural events.
The "Law of National Languages" also mandates dignity be given minority languages, sanctioning pejorative or discriminatory use, calling for ethnic censuses to be taken to identify the number of minority speakers, and standardization of minority languages. But, as with many laws which lag behind reality, the law does not include specific attainable goals or reporting requirements.
