THE CASE of SAN LUCAS QUIAVINI ZAPOTEC by Gabriela Pérez Báez
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ENDANGERMENT OF A TRANSNATIONAL LANGUAGE: THE CASE OF SAN LUCAS QUIAVINI ZAPOTEC by Gabriela Pérez Báez April 24, 2009 A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the State University of New York at Buffalo in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Linguistics Copyright by Gabriela Pérez Báez 2009 ii Acknowledgments It is unlikely that I would have come to know about San Lucas Quiaviní, and certainly thought of devoting the last eight years of my life to studying language use in San Lucas had it not been for two people: my mom and Dr. Felipe Lopez. One day, my mom gave me a clipping from a magazine telling the story of a young man from San Lucas who had immigrated to Los Angeles in his mid-teens. The article put a great deal of emphasis on the fact that when this young man emigrated to Los Angeles, he had little Spanish skills, and told the story of someone who was determined to do whatever it took to get an education. That involved learning Spanish and English and getting a GED. He did. Then he went to college. Then he went to graduate school. Along the way, he became an advocate of indigenous rights and focused on the preservation of his native language: San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec. He teamed up with Dr. Pamela Munro of the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles and together they co-authored the Di’csyonaary X:tèe’n Dìi’zh Sah Sann Lu’uc (San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec Dictionary) in 1999. Felipe now holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from UCLA. His determination, his pursuit of equality for indigenous people and his efforts to preserve his language were deeply inspirational to me and greatly motivated me to become a linguist and undertake the research I present in this dissertation. I am forever grateful to Felipe for this, and to my mom for thinking of sharing Felipe’s story with me. iii Beyond the field work and research presented here, the most indelible impression of the last eight years has been the genuine personal interest that the community of San Lucas Quiaviní and its daughter community of Los Angeles have taken in me, my family and my work. Relationships formed naturally both in San Lucas and in Los Angeles and were reciprocal, and that has been the most enriching and elevating experience of all. My most heartfelt gratitude to everyone in San Lucas who has asked me kali cheu and kali weu on the streets, has stopped to chat with me, has taught me and my daughter their language, has invited me year after year to return to San Lucas, has brought me into their homes and offered me cafe, cafe nnax, guet, cub, guet xtilly and more importantly their friendship. It has been and will always be an honor for me to visit them. I am especially thankful to my host family in San Lucas and the two families in Los Angeles who hosted me while conducting my research. Every moment I spent with them was a pleasant experience that I hope I will continue to have in years to come. I am also indebted to all who participated in my research responding my questions and providing me with narratives in San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec. I am aware that their participation is an expression of trust which I am honored to have earned. This dissertation is dedicated to the people of San Lucas Quiaviní and their relatives in Los Angeles. Once I decided to become a linguist, I received valuable advice and guidance from two people. Dr. Pamela Munro initially helped me get in touch with Felipe. Later, she advised me during the process of applying to the Department of Linguistics at the University at Buffalo. Once I approached UB Linguistics, I had the iv pleasure of meeting Dr. Wolfgang Wölck who warmly encouraged me to apply and generously shared with me a lifetime’s worth of knowledge and experience. Throughout my studies and especially during dissertation writing, he has been a rigorous advisor, yet personable and kind, and always expressing a genuine interest and concern not only for my academic life but also for my personal and family wellbeing. I especially appreciate Dr. Wölck’s patience throughout the dissertation writing process, especially once I left Buffalo to move to New York City. He worked with me long distance, often under tight deadlines, but always with a pleasant and warm demeanor and much dedication. ¡Gracias Profe! My dissertation committee was comprised of Dr. Wölck as major professor, Dr. Jürgen Bohnemeyer and Dr. David Fertig. I have learned much from Dr. Bohnemeyer’s meticulous way of constructing research arguments and from Dr. Fertig’s ability to situate a topic of inquiry into the larger research context. All three of my committee professors have been very encouraging throughout the dissertation writing process. More importantly, however, all three have advised me to pursue research I feel passionate about. My sincere thanks. Overall, I have received much guidance and encouragement from the faculty at the Department of Linguistics at the University at Buffalo, especially from the department chair, Dr. Karin Michelson. In New York City I found an important support network in its linguistics community. I am very grateful to Dr. Ricardo Otheguy and Dr. Gita Martohardjono for allowing me to be part of the Linguistics Department at the CUNY Graduate Center as a Visiting Research Scholar, thereby v providing me with access to CUNY libraries. Dr. Ofelia García, Dr. José del Valle, Dr. Laura Callahan and Dr. Miki Makihara, also at the Graduate Center, Dr. Gregory Guy and Dr. John Singler at New York University, and Dr. Daniel Suslak at Indiana University Bloomington have graciously spent considerable time hearing about my research and offering me valuable advice. The research that was needed for this study was particularly onerous given the numerous trips to San Lucas and Los Angeles. I therefore wish to acknowledge all the sources of financial support for this study. I obtained substantial financing during four years of graduate studies through an Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship from the University at Buffalo. Fieldwork in San Lucas in 2004 was partially financed by a Summer Research Grant from the Department of Linguistics at the University at Buffalo. The Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas, through their funding of a health information dissemination project in San Lucas made fieldwork possible in October of 2007. The core of the research in Los Angeles in April of 2008 was made possible by a Mark Diamond Research Fund grant (F-07-22) from the Graduate Student Association at the University at Buffalo. I also received dissertation writing support by way of a University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship. Without a doubt, the most generous source of funding during the doctoral research and dissertation writing phases was my beloved Robert. His support has taken many facets, it has not only been financial. From little things like cooking dinners to figuring out complex field travel logistics, Robert has consistently vi respected and encouraged my work. I consider this as a reflection of his trust in my judgment, his understanding of the motivations driving my work and his appreciation for the research I have undertaken. Robert has made the challenges and demands of study, teaching, writing and especially fieldwork, a natural part of our family life and I am deeply grateful for this. I received much help from family members at various points in time and in various ways. David, my father-in-law, and especially Phyllis, my mother-in-law, were very helpful in stepping in to help caring for Olivia whenever I needed an extra couple of hours to finish this or that. My mom has helped babysitting too, has helped me transcribing interviews and has provided me with important financial support. My beautiful daughter Olivia deserves many thanks as well. I did most of my preliminary doctoral work while caring for her as an infant, and during that time it was her consistent napping that allowed me to carve out the time to do my work. Later, she joined me in two field research periods in San Lucas and two in Los Angeles, during which she adapted marvelously to her new environments. Moreover, she welcomed the culture and language to which she was being exposed, giving me the indescribable pleasure of seeing my own daughter speak San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec and identify with its community of speakers. I am sincerely grateful to my family and especially to lovely Olivia for being an important part of my research. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgments iii Abstract xx Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1. Research motivation and rationale 2 1.2. Research procedures and outcomes 5 Chapter 2 Research Methods and Theoretical Background 9 2.1 Implementation of the Tripartite Model of Sociolinguistic Field Research in San Lucas Quiaviní 10 2.1.1 Case study 10 2.1.2 Community profile 11 2.1.3 The term ‘community’ 12 2.1.4 Community sample 13 2.1.5 Interview format 16 2.1.6 Spot checks 17 viii 2.2 Profiling the migrant community in Los Angeles 18 2.2.1 Case study and community profile 19 2.2.2 Defining the “immigrant community” 21 2.3 Surveying the transnational community 22 2.3.1 The transnational community of San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec speakers 23 2.4 Surveying transnational social networks 26 2.4.1 The surveys 28 2.4.2 Participant selection 29 2.4.3 Overcoming methodological challenges 33 Chapter 3 Community Profile of San Lucas Quiaviní 37 3.1 Geographic location and history 37 3.2 Local government and social structure 40 3.3