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Sat Oct 23 05:56:59 UTC 1999
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Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999
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From: "Diaz Fernandez"
<chalimin at cybersnet.com.ar>
To:
endangered-languages-l at carmen.murdoch.edu.au
Subject: ELL: save two
languages of
Patagonia, Argentina
Sender:
owner-endangered-languages-l at carmen.murdoch.edu.au
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Reply-To:
endangered-languages-l at carmen.murdoch.edu.au
Dear Sirs and Ladies
involved in the rescue
of minority languages;
from
<chalimin at cybersnet.com.ar>
CHALIMIN was a
Calchaqui hero who
tried to deliver his
people from the
Spanish domination at
the beginning of the
XVII century but he
did not
succeed. He was caught
by the Spaniards who
cut his head off and
eventually
all his limbs were
chopped off and sent
to different towns to
be publicly
exposed as a token of
victory over the
Calchaqui people and
as a
threatening warning
against possible
rebelions.
My name is Antonio
D.az-Fern.ndez. I am
committed with our
vernaculars. I
am a descendent both
of Spaniards and of
the Calchaqui people
whose tongue
was erased by the
Spanish conquest,
remaining unknown
except for a few
words which supposedly
belong to this
language. I obtained
my degree as
"Licenciado en Ingl.s"
at Universidad
Nacional de Tucum.n
(northern
Argentina) in
1985. Presently I am
working on my thesis
to be presented to
the Graduate School of
Universidad Nacional
del Sur in the city of
Bah.a
Blanca (southern
Argentina) as part of
the requirements for
the degree of
Doctor of Phylosophy.
I have been working on
vernacular languages
of the region I live
in for
thirteen years without
any support. I am
working out of my
efforts. The
Ministry of Education
of the province of
Chubut where I live
does not show
any commitment with
the situation of the
local varieties of the
Mapuche
language as a
threatened
language. They are not
interested in
preserving
this language although
they say it is
important to do
it. Both the Governor
and the minister of
Education have
congratulated me about
my research and
work on this
vernacular but they
have refused to grant
me any help to carry
on a research project
in order to rescue
this tongue. I am the
only person
researching about this
language in this
province. I managed to
publish two
books on lessons of a
variety of the Mapuche
language of Chubut in
1992 and
1998 after having
waited for three years
with the manuscript in
each case.
There is much to be
done about this
language yet:
a) identify
and describe all the
varieties spoken in
this province
b) prepare
dictionaries of all
these varieties
c) prepare
lesson books and
paedagogical material
d) record the
oral literature and
traditions
e) record
stories and
experiences of the
last spekaers
The Mapuche language
in Chubut is dying, it
has not been
transmitted to
younger
generations. Fluent
speakers are found
above 65 years old
Besides the urgency to help the Mapuche language in Chubut, Aonik'o 'a'yin
has to be rescued. Aonik'o 'a'yin, also known as Tehuelche is the language
of the Aonik'enk people of which there may be six or seven aged persons
still knowing the language.
The few Aonik'enk people still surviving live at about 1,600 km far from my
home in the province of Santa Cruz and a few descendents having a vague
knowledge of this tongue live in SW Chubut. This language is going to
disappear soon. Other Patagonian languages disappeared during the last
decades, such as G.n.na yaj.ch, Shelknam, and at the beginning of this
century, such as Haush and Tewshen
Research on this language was carried on by a linguist from the university
of Buenos Aires, who described the language and presented it as a Ph. D.
thesis at Paris. The purpose of this linguist is not to save this language
but to describe it just for pure linguistic purpose. I have had the purpose
of working with Aonik'o 'a'yin to prepare lessons of it similar to the
books I had already prepared for the Chubut Mapuche language. Besides my
college training I am an inborn language learner which is fundamental tool
in this task. I have been looking for support to carry on this urgent and
important task but our authorities are blind to this need. There is not
much time to save Aonik'o 'a'yin, to say it in an illustrative way it is
11.58 and at 12.00 Aonik'o 'a'yin will die. If actions are carried on this
tongue may be saved otherwise it will have disappeared for ever in "two
minutes".
I work in a high schools to earn my living to support my family, we are
five people. Although I am really committed with these tongues I cannot
leave my work to devote all the time to rescue these two languages, but
time is absolutely necessary to achieve the goal succesfully. I have given
a proof of my commitment having worked for thirteen years without any
support. How could Aonik'o 'a'yin disappear? How could efforts not be done
at least to save it from dying? I am asking for the possibility of support
to carry on a project to save Aonik'o 'a'yin and the varities of Mapuche
language of Chubut. I would present a project and assure it through a
University contact, for intance, the one where I am working for my thesis.
I am looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks so much.
Yours truly
Lic. Antonio D.az-Fern.ndez
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