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.
Abstract
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.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2024
- Region
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub Region
- Central Mexico
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Linguist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 2023
- Field Date
- 2004
- Coverage Date
- 1940-2004
- Coverage Place
- central-northern Michoacán, Mexico
- Notes
- Agnes Ragone, Paul Marr
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-131)
- LCCN
- 71004564
- LCSH
- Tarasco Indians