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Yucatec Maya Language on the Move

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Yucatec Maya Language on the Move Yucatec Maya Language on the Move A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Indigenous Language Maintenance in an Age of Globalization Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn von Eriko Yamasaki aus Osaka Bonn 2018 Gedruckt mit der Genehmigung der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn Zusammensetzung der Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack (Vorsitzende) Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Nikolai Grube (Betreuer und Gutachter) Jun. Prof. Dr. Frauke Sachse (Gutachterin) Prof. Dr. Christoph Antweiler (weiteres prüfungsberechtigtes Mitglied) Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 19. Dezember 2018 Erscheinungsjahr 2019 i Abstract This dissertation discusses the language maintenance of Yucatec Maya in the contemporary world characterized by intensified global interactions. Manifested in the increased mobility of speakers and the intensive use of electronic media in majority languages, globalization is commonly considered to threaten the vitality of indigenous languages worldwide. The currently-observed language shift from Yucatec Maya to Spanish should also be seen in the context of social changes articulated with global processes. As a manifestation of transnational connections in people’s everyday lives, this work focuses on the mobility of Maya speakers within the Yucatan Peninsula related to the transnational tourism development in the Mexican Caribbean. Examining the language situation of Yucatec Maya in view of internal migration framed by the global capitalist economy, this dissertation aims to contribute to theoretical debates on the vitality of indigenous languages in the present age of globalization. Despite many parallels with other shifting communities, the Yucatecan case stands out for a marked contrast between the revalorization of the indigenous language and the declining rate of its intergenerational transmission. In order to address these seemingly contradicting sociolinguistic realities, the study adopts an anthropological approach, drawing on debates on the cultural dynamics of globalization as the theoretical orientation and ethnographic fieldwork as its method. Based on the cross-disciplinary research, these apparent inconsistencies are understood as a shift in meaning attached to Yucatec Maya by speakers in view of the increased contact and communication. In the course of the language’s deterritorialization, Yucatec Maya increasingly becomes the object of conscious reflection and representation away from embodied practice. For the maintenance of Yucatec Maya, metalinguistic engagement with it should go in hand in hand with its intergenerational transmission as practical mastery. The research identifies current gaps between these two modalities of cultural knowledge, which should be bridged to ensure the vitality of the indigenous language in today’s globalized world. ii La presente tesis doctoral discute el mantenimiento de la lengua maya en el mundo contemporáneo caracterizado por elevadas interacciones a nivel global. La globalización es comúnmente considerada como factor amenazante para la vitalidad de lenguas indígenas del mundo, manifestándose tanto en el aumento de movilidad de hablantes como en el uso intenso de medios de comunicación en lenguas mayoritarias. Asimismo, el desplazamiento del maya yucateco por el español en la península de Yucatán, en México, debe de ser visto en el contexto de cambios sociales que son cada vez más articulados con procesos globales. Entre varias maneras en que conexiones transnacionales se expresan en la vida cotidiana, el estudio se enfoca en la migración interna de maya hablantes en la península de Yucatán relacionada con el desarrollo del turismo internacional en el caribe mexicano. Investigando la situación sociolingüística del maya yucateco ante la movilidad de hablantes condicionada por la economía capitalista global, esta tesis busca aportar a debates teóricos sobre la vitalidad de lenguas indígenas en la presente época de globalización. A pesar de existentes paralelos con la situación de otras lenguas indígenas, el caso del maya yucateco se destaca por un marcado contraste entre la revaloración del idioma y la interrupción de su transmisión intergeneracional. El estudio aborda esta realidad sociolingüística desde la antropología, tomando la cuestión de dinámicas culturales de globalización como orientación teórica y la etnografía como método. Basado en la investigación transdisciplinaria, se interpreta el aparente desequilibrio mencionado arriba como resultado del cambio en significado atribuido a la lengua maya ante una intensificación de contacto y comunicación. En el transcurso de su desterritorialización, la lengua maya se vuelve más en el objeto de consciente reflexión y representación en lugar de una práctica encarnada. Para la vitalidad integral del maya yucateco, tanto el abordamiento metalingüístico como la trasmisión intergeneracional de su dominio práctico son esenciales. La tesis identifica brechas existentes entre estas dos modalidades de conocimiento cultural que urge superar para asegurar la vitalidad de la lengua indígena en el mundo globalizado de hoy. iii Acknowledgements This project was made only possible by people the who supported me in and from different locations around the globe throughout the entire process of its development. First of all, Maya speakers from Yaxcabá, Tiholop, Mérida and Cancún receive my greatest thanks. I just cannot thank them enough for their collaboration, kindness and hospitality. They not only made this project possible, but the time I spent with them and our enduring friendship enriched my life in an indescribable way. Accordingly, this work is dedicated to them. During my fieldwork stays, I was also in contact with scholars based in Yucatan to whom I want to express my special gratitude. Their insights into the topic have been influential for this research project. Based on his expertise on migration studies, Dr. Pedro Lewin Fischer (INAH) provided me with concrete support in designing and conducting my research project, ranging from proposing the idea of multi-sited ethnography, arranging my first visit to the municipality of Yaxcabá to helping me to develop the interview guides. Dr. Barbara Pfeiler (UNAM-CEPHCIS) was always willing to share her knowledge on the sociolinguistic situation in Yucatan, based on her long-term commitment to the topic. She also invited me to present my research project which was still in an exploratory phase in her seminar. The comments from her and her students were very inspiring for its further elaboration. Dr. Marianne Gabriel (UADY) provided me with her insights into the Yucatecan society based on her long-term research experience and community-based projects. César Can Canul shared his experience with me as an urban Maya speaker, as well as helping me to make contacts with researchers based in Mérida. This research project, which included three fieldwork trips to Yucatan was kindly supported by the German Academic Foundation. Apart from the financial aid, the foundation also offered valuable opportunities for exchanges with other scholarship-holders from different disciplines, which provided me with new perspectives on my research topic. iv Apart from Yucatan, the Department of “Altamerikanistik” at the University of Bonn was the other significant setting for this research project. First of all, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Nikolai Grube for his support, comments and critical thoughts on my research project as supervisor. And my special thanks go to Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack. Participation in her seminars for doctoral students was crucial for the anthropological side of this project. And I am indebted to jun. Prof. Dr. Frauke Sachse, who played a significant role in my decision to initiate the doctoral study. I would also like to thank participants of the workshop on ethnography in Yucatan which took place in May 2015 at the department – Dr. Antje Gunsenheimer, Dr. Armin Hinz, Annette Kern, Dr. Catherine Letcher Lazo – for their critical comments on this study. And I would like to express my gratitude to Deutsche Altamerika-Stiftung, whose short term grants enabled me to focus exclusively on my thesis while writing theoretical chapters. Finally, colleagues, doctoral and master students receive my thanks for the pleasant time together at the Department of “Altamerikanistik”, which was essential for getting through the otherwise lengthy and tough process of writing. In this context, I would also like to express my special gratitude to my friends, Lena and Anne Voigtländer and Dr. Nils Hein for food for thought for the research topic as well as marvelous real food, which supplied me with energy and delight necessary for completing the project. And I would like to thank Dr. Nils Hein additionally for helping me to improve the structure of the thesis. And last but not least, my thanks go to my family in Japan. Thank you for supporting me from distance and tolerating my frequent absence during the project! Dios bóoltik! ¡Gracias! Danke! ありがとう！ v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. iii List of Acronyms ................................................................................................. ix Table of Figures ..................................................................................................
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