KEYNOTE: La Palabra Como Refugio: Enjoying Dixza Language And Culture
Document Types
Keynote
Location
Texas A&M University-San Antonio | Vista Room
Start Date
2-22-2024 7:00 PM
End Date
2-22-2024 8:00 PM
Abstract
As a child I never saw any book written in Zapotec, and I never had a teacher that spoke the language of my town—rather, speaking Zapotec in front of them, the teachers, was disrespectful. Zapotec is acquired orally within the family and among the community, social and political life, but never in a classroom. I remember in my elementary and middle school education, which I attended in my town, the history and geography books portrayed the Zapotecs as a culture from the past who spoke a language that was not Spanish and who were weavers and farmers, a civilization that lived in the same territory in which I live today. Neither books nor teachers would recognize that we were living and being educated in a very much alive Zapotec community where its inhabitants are weavers, farmers, academics and Zapotec speakers, a community that has very well-founded traditions, customs and beliefs strongly supported both by time and by the present.
Recommended Citation
Chavez, Janet, "KEYNOTE: La Palabra Como Refugio: Enjoying Dixza Language And Culture" (2024). 11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language. 29.
https://digitalcommons.tamusa.edu/heritage_spanish/SCHEDULE/Thursday/29
KEYNOTE: La Palabra Como Refugio: Enjoying Dixza Language And Culture
Texas A&M University-San Antonio | Vista Room
As a child I never saw any book written in Zapotec, and I never had a teacher that spoke the language of my town—rather, speaking Zapotec in front of them, the teachers, was disrespectful. Zapotec is acquired orally within the family and among the community, social and political life, but never in a classroom. I remember in my elementary and middle school education, which I attended in my town, the history and geography books portrayed the Zapotecs as a culture from the past who spoke a language that was not Spanish and who were weavers and farmers, a civilization that lived in the same territory in which I live today. Neither books nor teachers would recognize that we were living and being educated in a very much alive Zapotec community where its inhabitants are weavers, farmers, academics and Zapotec speakers, a community that has very well-founded traditions, customs and beliefs strongly supported both by time and by the present.
