"Inward" and "Outward" Translanguaging Among Indigenous Communities in Mexico (Poster 9)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Seven
  In Poster Session: Critical Perspectives: Leveraging the Influence of Languages in Multilingual Contexts

Abstract

In this duo ethnography, we draw from our own experiences as language educators among Nahuatl speaking communities in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. By contrasting the historical and current reactions of Tlaxcalans towards Aztec and Mexican mestizo colonialism, the systemic discrimination of Tlaxcalans in national discourses of Mexican identity, and current theoretical and empirical research about translanguaging in indigenous communities around the globe, we reflect in our own positions as western-educated researchers to explain the benefits and limitations of translanguaging. Our experiences suggest that Tlaxcalans have effectively managed to preserve their Nahuatl variation by using their own monolingual strategies, for which the promotion of translanguaging—based on western epistemologies—can represent more disadvantages than benefits for these communities.

Authors

• David Martinez-Prieto, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
  Presenting Author

• Catalina Ramírez Rodríguez
  Non-Presenting Author