Government launches the Year of Indigenous Languages at the International Mother Language Day celebration
In honor of this important day, the ministries of Social Development; Cultures, the Arts and Heritage; and Justice and Human Rights were among the government agencies to announce the launch of activities designed to promote the preservation and revitalization of the six indigenous languages spoken in Chile.
In the context of International Mother Language Day, which was celebrated on February 21, the Chilean government kicked off the Year of Indigenous Languages, which aims to preserve and recover the languages of Chile’s indigenous peoples.
To that end, the Social Development Ministry; Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry; Justice and Human Rights Ministry; Foreign Relations Ministry; and Education Ministry joined UNESCO to launch a series of initiatives and activities. A full listing is published online at lenguasindigenas.ministeriodesarrollosocial.gob.cl.
Undersecretary of Social Services Sebastián Villarreal; Acting Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Juan Carlos Silva; Undersecretary of Human Rights Lorena Recaberren; and representatives from the Mapuche and Rapa Nui peoples participated in the kick-off event held on Paseo Bandera in downtown Santiago.
In his remarks, Undersecretary Villarreal highlighted that Chile is part of a UN-backed, world-wide initiative to promote the recovery and preservation of cultural manifestations such as language.
“The Social Development Ministry is responsible for the National Agreement on the Araucanía region. One of its foundations is recognizing cultural diversity in Chile. As part of this international effort to celebrate the year of indigenous languages, we are working towards preserving and revitalizing the six indigenous languages that are spoken in Chile”.
The Undersecretary noted that one area of concern for Chile is that 80 percent of those who identify as belonging to an indigenous group neither speak nor understand the language of that people. “In view of this, we have launched a coordinated effort by the Ministries of Social Development, Culture, Education, Justice and Foreign Relations to promote and revitalize indigenous languages”.
During the event, authorities recognized Rosa Córdova, Alipio Pacheco and Florentino Hey for their important work promoting and disseminating the Mapuche, Quechua and Rapa Nui languages.
Free Mapuzugun courses
One of the highlights of this effort is the launch of free online Mapuzugun courses, which will be offered beginning in March.
Thanks to an initiative organized by Biblioredes, a library network, and the National Culture Heritage Service’s (SNPC) Department of Indigenous Peoples, members of the public can register for 80-hour online courses at www.cultura.gob.cl and www.biblioredes.cl. The courses will be divided into 4 modules and will be available for six months with a maximum of 5,000 students per year.
“These free courses will enable us to explore and learn Mapuzugun, which reflects our purpose: to bring these languages to people who sometimes feel that they are not part of our national culture and identity”, noted Acting Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Juan Carlos Silva.
This year’s other Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry initiatives include a seminar on linguistic revitalization experiences planned for next October in the La Araucanía and Metropolitan regions and the II Conference on Books and Reading Research, which will focus on revitalizing indigenous languages. The latter event, which is being organized in accordance with the National Policy on Reading and Books, is scheduled for July 2019.