Attitudes of migrant indigenous people towards their autochthonous languages and spanish

"I don't want to lose my culture, above all, my language of speaking"

Abstract

This empirical study investigates the attitudes of indigenous people towards their indigenous languages and Spanish in an urban context. Its aim is to assess the importance of autochthonous languages for their speakers, in order to derive estimations on language vitality. Additionally, an intergenerational comparison shows the differences in attitudes which exist between children, adolescents and adults. The study is based on an investigation with 29 indigenous people who belong to six ethnic groups and mainly uses the method of Semantic Differential. It was conducted in the Mexican city León in the state of Guanajuato.