article

Language maintenance in the Meseta Purépecha region of Michoacán, Mexico

Anthropological linguistics • 48 (2) • Published In 2006 • Pages: 109-131

By: Ragone, Agnes, Marr, Paul.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document

This is a study of language maintenance in Morelia and the Meseta Purépecha, a region of predominantly Purépecha-speaking (Tarascan) people in the state of Michoacán west of Lake Pátzcuaro. The authors conducted 62 surveys and interviews in 14 towns, finding that while the number of Purépecha speakers declined in the period 1940-1970, it increased slightly in the period 1970-2000, suggesting that Purépecha is not a dying language. The government has made an effort to teach the language in schools. Also, the region remains relatively isolated from the wider Spanish-speaking area where people temporally migrate to for work but return in later life to their home towns where Purépecha remains essential at all levels of social interaction.

SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF

Identification

Interviewing in research

Acculturation and culture contact

Speech

Vocabulary

Linguistic identification

Settlement patterns

Travel

Highways and bridges

cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)

Tarascans

HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document

2024

RegionThe area the document pertains to

Middle America and the Caribbean

Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region

Central Mexico

Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs

article

Evaluation

Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.

Linguist

Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection

Ian Skoggard; 2023

Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document

2004

Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to

1940-2004

Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)

central-northern Michoacán, Mexico

NotesAdditional notes

Agnes Ragone, Paul Marr

Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-131)

LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number

71004564

LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings

Tarasco Indians