Open AccessA Case for Reversing Language Shift on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
Author(s) -
Barbara Jean Tasker-Mueller
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of anthropology at mcmaster
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0707-3771
DOI - 10.15173/nexus.v24i1.1097
Subject(s) - legitimacy , autonomy , diaspora , hegemony , reversing , linguistic diversity , sociology , sign (mathematics) , gender studies , political science , ethnology , linguistics , law , politics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , materials science , composite material
I examine the work being done by the Linguistic Research and Revitalization Institute (IPILC) at the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN) and the dilemmas faced in claiming and implementing the linguistic rights that were granted under the 1987 Law of Autonomy for the Caribbean Coast Regions. The problems I discuss in this case are not unique to Nicaragua’s Creoles, nor to Black diaspora cultures, they are merely part of larger issues which affect all minoritized groups who seek to assert the legitimacy of their languages and cultures within hegemonic discourses around cultural difference.