Mocho, Tuzanteco, and Xinka - Documenting the Languages of the Mayans
Jackelyn Van Buren, an undergraduate studying linguistics, has worked with the Center for American Indian Languages at the University of Utah since her freshmen year. “I’ve always loved studying languages but wanted to know more about how language works. I was extremely curious about the variations found in languages, and how they developed and changed over time.” She notes she is particularly interested in historical linguistics and language documentation because she believes language endangerment is among the most important issues facing humanity today.
Because of this passion for language preservation, Jackelyn’s work with CAIL centers on documenting and revitalizing endangered languages. In particular, she’s actively involved in linguistic fieldwork in Chiapas, Mexico, dealing with languages such as Mocho and Tuzanteco – languages spoken by the ancient Mayans – and in Guatemala, studying Xinka, a “language isolate” not known to be related to any other language family.
Most endangered language revitalization focuses on young children, introducing the language into their regular reading and writing activities. In the case of Tuzanteco, a dialect of Mocho, Jackelyn helped to create a children’s book about farm animals, with narration in both Tuzanteco and Spanish. Jackeyln notes that this book is part of a series of children’s books focused on endangered language revitalization. The original book was created for Mocho by Jelena Marcovic, Kristen Lindahl, Naomi Fox, Raichle Farrelly and Zuzana Tomas – all members of a working group focused on creating this language revitalization series. “This is an important project, targeting Spanish-speaking children who are of Tuzanteco descent.” Tuzanteco, explains Jackeyln, is a language that has now mostly died out, leaving less than a dozen speakers. “The few remaining native speakers are all quite elderly, so the threat of language extinction is imminent. We’re hoping that this simple children’s book will help introduce the Tuzanteco dialect to these young children and plant the seeds of revitalization.”
Jackelyn recently completed her undergraduate studies in Linguistics, and hopes to work internationally, perhaps teaching English or working in a publishing company. Ultimately, she plans to return to graduate school to get a Master’s Degree in either translation or linguistics.