Abstract
In this article, I describe two families from two different Mexican communities where the Nahuatl language is spoken. In both families the parental generation speaks Nahuatl as a first language, but the way that the adult children use and relate to the language varies widely between the families and between the individual siblings within a family. Some master the language and have made the language an important source of identity and livelihood, whereas others have all but abandoned it. I describe how this variation in linguistic outcomes is related to the children's life histories, including the influence of significant life events and educational experience, which are in turn tied to political changes in Mexican society. I show how the Nahuatl language has been a source of different options and obstacles in their lives. I propose that a life-history perspective on language transmission anchored in a phenomenological semiotics will enhance our understanding of the relation between language ideology and agency.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Linguistic Anthropology |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 81-97 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISSN | 1055-1360 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2016 |