Kaqchikel Maya and Spanish: Attitudes, domains, and acquisition

Abstract

Aims and objectives: The goals of this study are to examine attitudes toward Kaqchikel Maya and Spanish in domains of life in a village and a town in central Guatemala and to examine the influence of indigenous participants’ attitudes toward Kaqchikel on Kaqchikel acquisition. Method: The study draws on fieldwork employing interviews and a sociolinguistic questionnaire. To investigate attitudes, we employed questions focusing on the importance of Kaqchikel and Spanish for domains of community life. The questionnaire also tested conversational ability in Kaqchikel. Data and analysis: Responses to the survey questions are examined in quantitative analyses of valuations of the importance of Kaqchikel and Spanish in domains for participants from the village and the town and of the importance of Kaqchikel for indigenous adults and students. Also gauged through quantitative analysis are correlations between attitudes toward the importance of Kaqchikel in the domains and acquired conversational ability in Kaqchikel of indigenous adults and students. Findings: The findings underscore differences and similarities in attitudes toward the two languages in the town and the village as well as differences in the attitudes of indigenous adults and students. The effects of instrumental and integrative attitudes toward Kaqchikel on Kaqchikel acquisition are highlighted for the students. Originality: Points of originality include the size of the participant sample (252), the breakdown of the sample by village and town, and by non-indigenous and indigenous participants and age groups. They include the focus on attitudes toward Kaqchikel as related to the acquisition of conversational ability in Kaqchikel for indigenous adults and students. Implications: The study confirms a shift in attitudes toward the importance of Kaqchikel for indigenous students compared to indigenous adults. For Kaqchikel-language programs for youth, the study underscores the need for fomenting awareness of the importance of Kaqchikel in domains of community life.