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Proquest Dissertations Zapotec language shift and reversal in Juchitan, Mexico Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Saynes-Vazquez, Floria E. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 04:34:13 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289854 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overiaps. ProQuest Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 ZAPOTEC LANGUAGE SHIFT AND REVERSAL IN JUCHITAN. MEXICO by Fiona E. Saynes-Vazquez Copyright © Fiona E. Saynes-Vazquez 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 200 2 UMI Number: 3073252 Copyright 2002 by Saynes-Vazquez, Fioria Edaena All rights reserved. o UMI UMI Microform 3073252 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 T THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Floria E. Savnes-Vazauez entitled Zapotec Language Shift and Reversal In Juchitan. Mexico. and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Ph^^n•«^nphy J, . Dr\ Jane H. Hill Date / V/ ^/o ^ Dr. Susan Philip-" '4^ Date DhC6 Dr. Richard A. Thompson Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to Che Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend Chat it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Diss^rtacion Direccor H. Hill 3 STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advance degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to all the members of my dissertation committee. I am panicularly thankful to Dr. Jane Hill, my graduate and dissertation adviser, particularly for her unquestionable and unique academic history and knowledge, and for her invaluable disposition and willing support in many critical moments. To Dr. Richard Thompson I offer my warmest thanks for believing in my work as well as for his wise advice in key moments. I also want to thank to Dr. Susan Philips for her helpful comments and suggestions. Financial support came from the Progrcima de Doctorantes of the Centro De Investigaciones de Estudios Superiores en Antropologi'a Social (CIESAS), Me.xico (1998- 1999) and the Amazon Scholarship Fund for Women and girls. I very gratefully acknowledge their support. In Tucson, I had editorial support from my great friend Susan Sotelo who deciphered the first lines I wrote and that form part of this work. I am also sincerely grateful to Dr. Helen Henderson who read and edited the last drafts. I apologize for the manners in which I distorted their language in its final version. To my great friends and colleagues Elea Aguirre y Maribel Alvarez, gracias porel confort de tenerlas cerca, especially in these last months. A mis cuatisimas Hortensia Caballero and Krisna Ruette for all our shared moments of despair, but also for all the laughs and, of course, for the cyber-support, im milloii!. In Juchitan I am indebted with all my paisanos, particulady all the children and families who endured my presence and agonizing questions. I am grateful to all the people and friends from La Casa de la Cultura who shared with me their time, knowledge and memories. I offer my deepest gratitude to Rita Castillo, Gloria Sanchez and Yesenia Carvallo for sharing with me their wonderful and admirable thoughts as well as their love for the Zapotec language. To my friends Fabiola Martmez, Blanca Luz Hodich and Mario Guerra, for allowing me to participate during their private family time, as well as for being amazing friends. To padre Eleazar, my deepest gratitude. To my comadre Mayeya for all the help, conversations and insightful comments on our community. To Chente Marcial and all my Juchiteco friends who have worked on behalf of the Zapotec language. I am grateful to my colleague and friend Marcela Coronado. for sharing with me her data and ideas, and to my beloved friend Eli Bartolo for his unconditional support in the field and while writing this work. To my siblings and great friends, Fredy and Chata, for the constant support and assistance in the field, and the gratifying conversations while writing this work. Especially for making me believe that this was worth pursuing. And to mi famiiia, a huge thank you for all their help, their great sense of humor, and for making me a proud Juchiteca. Mi famiiia, more than anything, gracias for having instilled in me the confidence necessary to conclude this work. 5 DEDICATION To my family 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 9 ABSTRACT 10 CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 11 Objectives of this study and relevance 12 Language shift 13 Ethnicity 18 Literacy and Language maintenance 21 Literacy as social practice 21 Literacy and Progress 22 Literacy at School or Native Literacy: Effects on language revitalization efforts 24 Data collection and methodological remarks 32 Organization of the work 34 CHAPTER TWO - SOCIO HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND, AND LAYOUT OF THE COMMUNITY TODAY 38 The Conquest and to be conquered; Zapotec control over the Isthmus region and Spanish colonization 39 The Pre-Hispanic period 39 The Arrival of Spaniards 42 The development of regional differences 46 Late colonial period 46 Postcolonial period 48 More regional differences; The beginning of the twentieth century and further decades 52 The 1960s and recent time 56 The ethnographic setting 59 Geography, routes of communication and landscape 60 A tour around the city 64 The Downtown area: The market, the City Hall, the church San Vicente Ferrer, and La Casa de la Cultura (LCC) 69 Rituals, celebrations, community ties and responsibilities 72 Conclusions 77 CHAPTER THREE - THE DYNAMICS OF LANGUAGE SHIFT AND THE ZAPOTEC LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF POLITICAL AND CULTURAL MOVEMENTS 79 Linguistic differences among Isthmus Zapotec communities 81 Bilingualism and the linguistic make-up in Juchitan 86 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued The process of language shift 91 Guie' Daana' Family 95 Guie' Chaachi Family 97 Guie' Tiqui' Family 99 Guie' Xhuba Family 101 The distribution of Spanish and Zapotec across secciones 103 Interaction between children from Cheguigo and children from the primera seccion 106 "La escuela es un arma de doble filo:" Schools are a double edged sword 109 Schools as sites of Zapotec transmission 114 The Zapotec language in the context of political, cultural and religious activities 115 Language and local politics: the COCEI 116 Language and cultural development; La Casa de la Cultura de Juchitan 118 Language and religion: Zapotec and the Catholic Church 121 Conclusions 128 CHAPTER FOUR - ZAPOTEC IDENTITY AND LINGUISTIC VITALITY 131 Guidxi layiU language and Zapotec Identity 133 Saa Guidxi 138 Guendaxheela' 145 Velas, guendaxheela', class differences and the dances of ethnicity 147 Class and ethnicity 149 Language as an identity marker 152 Language and group identification 154 To be ashamed of speaking Zapotec is shameful 162 El Zapoteco esta de moda: renewed interests in speaking Zapotec 166 Zapotec Identity and the future of the Zapotec language 169 Conclusions 171 CHAPTER FIVE - ALTERNATIVE LITERACY PRACTICES (ALPs) 173 Reading literacy: The meaning of writing 174 ALPs and their contextual meaning in Juchitan 175 The development of the Zapotec literary tradition 176 Zapotec Orthography: A historical Overview 177 Writing with the new orthography 184 Removing dependency, constructing alternatives 188 Alternative Literacy Practices (ALPs) in Juchitan 191 The dynamics of the contents of ALPs 191 Stores and service providers 195 Schools 202 Streets 204 Cultural and political graffiti 205 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued The impact of ALPs outside Juchitan 206 Native Literacy and RLS 209 The costs of the written language 210 Literacy, prestige and language reproduction 213 Conclusions 215 CHAPTER SIX - LANGUAGE POLICY: FOSTERING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES 219 "Language as a problem" 219 The origins 219 Bilingual Education institutionalized 224 Schools vs.
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