Summer 2005 Nahuatl program in Zacatecas and Tepecxitla

[idiez at MAC.COM]

Tohuampoyohuan,
        The Zacatecas Institute for Teaching and Research in Ethnology and the 
Language Center of the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas are happy to 
announce the Summer 2005 Intensive course in Older and Modern Nahuatl 
for non-native speakers (June 20 to July 29). An English syllabus 
follows, and .pdf versions of both this and the Spanish version are 
available at our website: www.idiez.org.mx, or if the university server 
is down, homepage.mac.com/idiez/idiezweb.

The Zacatecas Institute for Teaching and Research in Ethnology and the
Language Center of the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas

Intensive course in Older and Modern Nahuatl for non-native speakers
Summer 2005 (June 20 to July 29)

Instructors: John Sullivan, Ph.D., Lic. Delfina de la Cruz, and 
indigenous teaching assistants.

General objectives
1. Develop students' oral comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, 
knowledge of language structure, as well as their cultural wisdom and 
sensibility, in order to facilitate their ability to communicate 
effectively, correctly and creatively in everyday situations.
2. Provide students with instruments and experiences which demonstrate 
the continuity between past and present Nahua culture, through the 
study of colonial and modern texts, conversation with native speakers, 
and a residency in a Nahua community.
3. Penetrate into the historical, economic, political, social and 
cultural aspects of Nahua civilization.
4. Prepare non-native speaking students to take university level 
humanities courses taught in Nahuatl alongside native speakers.
5. Prepare advanced students to work on individual and collective 
research projects in the Nahuatl language.

Registration requirements:
1. Copy of birth certificate or CURP for Mexicans. Copy of passport for 
foreigners (student visa is not necessary).
2. two credential-size photographs

Academic credit: Academic credit for 140 hours is issued in the form of 
an official transcript through the Language Center of the Universidad 
Autónoma de Zacatecas.

Testing:
1. Beginning students' progress will be evaluated in three categories:
40%, three tests on Older Nahuatl (grammar and translation).
40%, three tests on Modern Nahuatl (oral comprehension, speech 
production, reading, writing, and grammar).
20%, research report.
2. Intermediate students' progress will be evaluated in three 
categories:
40%, three tests on Older Nahuatl (grammar, transcription, translation, 
and commentary).
40%, three tests on Modern Nahuatl (reading, writing, and grammar)
20%, research report.
3. Advanced students' will be evaluated based on their research paper 
written in Modern Nahuatl.

Calendar and activities: There will be six weeks of work from June 20 
to July 29, 2005, for a total of 140 hours. The academic activities 
will be distributed according to the following four components:


1. OLDER NAHUATL
Students will meet two hours per day, five days per week during six 
weeks (four weeks at the Institute in Zacatecas, and two weeks in the 
indigenous community of Tepecxitla, Veracruz) in order to study Older 
Nahuatl.
a). Students at the beginner's level will work on chapters one through 
eight of James Lockhart's Nahuatl as Written, and will translate some 
elementary selections of colonial texts.
b). Students at the intermediate level will work on chapters nine 
through sixteen of James Lockhart's Nahuatl as Written, and will begin 
to transcribe, translate and comment colonial manuscripts.
c). Students at the advanced level will work exclusively on the 
transcription, analysis and commentary of colonial manuscripts.
Materials for the Older Nahuatl component: All students must have 
personal copies of the following texts:
1. Karttunen, Francis. 1983. An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl. Texas 
Linguistics Series. Austin: University of Texas Press.
2. Lockhart, James. 2001. Examples and Texts of Nahuatl as Written. Los 
Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center Publications.
3. Lockhart, James. 2001. Nahuatl as Written. Lessons in Older Written 
Nahuatl, with Copious Examples and Texts. Stanford: Stanford University 
Press.
4. Molina, Alonso de. 1977(1555-1571). Vocabulario en lengua castellana 
y mexicana y mexicana y castellana.  Colección “Biblioteca Porrúa” 44.  
México: Porrúa.
In addition, all students will receive, free of charge, numerous 
grammar charts and vocabulary lists, as well as photocopies and 
digitalized images of the manuscripts which will be studied.

2. MODERN NAHUATL
Students will meet two hours per day, five days per week during six 
weeks (four weeks at the Institute in Zacatecas, and two weeks in the 
indigenous community of Tepecxitla) to study Modern Nahuatl with a 
native-speaking professor.
Beginning level:
The first two weeks will entail an immersion experience, in which 
students will learn to converse in Nahuatl without the use of 
translations or grammar. This component is based on the early 
methodology of linguists Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell, and will 
conclude with a listening comprehension and oral production test.
During a second two-week phase, students will continue with the 
previous conversation activities. In addition, they will be introduced 
to the writing system and the three basic grammatical structures: the 
noun, verb, and relational phrases. The grammar studies will be based 
on a series of charts and written exercises developed by the 
professors. This stage will conclude with a conversation exam and a 
written exam on the writing system and the grammar.
During a third two-week period, held in Tepecxitla, students will begin 
to read Modern Nahuatl texts, emphasizing comprehension. A basic 
bilingual vocabulary prepared by the professors will be used, and the 
course will end with a reading comprehension test.
Intermediate level:
Durante the six weeks of the course, students will read, analyze and 
comment, both orally and in writing, diverse Modern Nahuatl texts. In 
addition, they will study some complex linguístic structures.
Advanced level:
        Students will research, en collaboration with the Institute's 
professors, a topic of Nahua culture, basing their work on older 
written sources, or on modern sources, be they oral or written. They 
will write a paper in modern Nahuatl on this topic.

3. INDIVIDUAL WORK WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS
Each beginning student will meet with a native speaker for one hour per 
day during the four weeks in Zacatecas, in order to work on some aspect 
of the language and/or culture which interests him or her. For this 
reason, and before being admitted to the program, each student will 
need to submit a proposal of the project they would like to work on. 
The personnel at IDIEZ will advise prospective students on this process 
before course registration. Students may propose individual or group 
research projects, or they may participate in any of the projects in 
which IDIEZ is currently involved. For example, we are preparing the 
first monolingual dictionary of the Nahuatl language. All students will 
prepare and turn in a research report at the end of the course.

4. RESIDENCY IN THE HUASTECA REGION
On July 16 we will travel to Tepecxitla, Veracruz where we will remain 
from July 17 to 29. Each student will live with a Nahua family and 
participate in daily activities, including the preparation and 
execution of the Chicomexochitl ceremony. We will also continue with 
formal instruction in conversation, reading and writing in Modern 
Nahuatl, and translation of older texts.

Complete bibliography
The complete bibliography of Nahua works contained in the Institute's 
library can be consulted at http://www.idiez.org.mx.

Cost: The cost of the program is:
1. US$2070 for tuition.
2. US$750-900 for transportation, room and board for six weeks. The 
difference depends on the room and board options during the four-week 
stay in Zacatecas. The most expensive option is for an individual room 
with a family. The least expensive option is for a shared room with a 
family, a rented house shared with other students, or other similar 
options.
3. Not included are the course texts and the round trip between your 
point of origin and Zacatecas.
4. FLAS. Students at U.S. universities may obtain FLAS funding for this 
course through their home academic institution.

For more information, please contact:
John Sullivan, Ph.D.                    Home phone: +52 (492) 768-6048
Tacuba 152, int. 47                     Mobile: 044-492-544-5985
Colonia Centro                  Office: +52 (492) 925-3415 or 925-3416
Zacatecas, Zac., 98000          Fax: +52 (492) 925-3416
México                        Email: idiez at mac.com    http://www.idiez.org.mx
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