16 schools to rescue Náhuatl (fwd)

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16 schools to rescue Náhuatl

Wire services
El Universal
Domingo 06 de mayo de 2007
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/24505.html

Capital government attempts to preserve the indigenous language.

The government of Mexico City, once the center of the Aztec civilization,
will begin efforts to rescue the indigenous Náhuatl language, an official
source told EFE Saturday.

The head of the council for native peoples and districts of the Federal
District (Mexico City), Fabiola Poblano, said that starting in 2008,
Náhuatl will be studied as a regular subject for up to two hours a day in
its 16 high schools and will be offered as a major at the University of
Mexico City.

The intention is to meet the need to preserve, restore and develop
everything related to Mexico´s original cultures.

Náhuatl was chosen since it was one of the chief indigenous languages in
this country, the official said.

The source said that this educational program will teach Náhuatl supported
by "all the knowledge of medicine, architecture, philosophy and mathematics
of Mexico´s ancient societies."

Poblano said there are also plans to introduce the study of these indigenous
cultures in public and private schools at the primary and middle-school
level.

In Mexico, some 62 indigenous languages remain extant, among which the most
important are Náhuatl, Maya and Mixtec.

According to the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous
Peoples, between 2000 and 2005 the number of indigenous-language speakers
diminished significantly. A study by the commission shows that in 2000
there were 2.4 million speakers of Náhuatl, 1.4 million of Maya, and
423,000 of Mixtec.

Five years later, the number had dropped to 1.3 million for Náhuatl, 759,000
for Maya and 410,000 for Mixtec.

In Mexico City, some 200,000 indigenous peoples keep their languages,
traditions and customs alive.