Language policy in Mexico

The history of the status of Spanish & the indigenous languages of Mexico is traced from the conquest through the nineteenth century. Conflicts between Castilianizing policy & administrative & ecclesiastical practice characterize the colonial period, at the end of which approximately 80% of the population of Mexico still did not use Spanish as a vehicular language. The rapid ascendancy of Spanish after Mexican independence is attributed to the resettlement of millions of Indians outside their communities of origin & their consequent failure to pass their native languages on to their children. The influence of education in this process was minimal. Within indigenous communities, the extension of trade networks & separation of language functions provided the conditions for the emergence of diglossic bilingualism, with Spanish or an indigenous language in the role of vehicular language. At the same time, although multilingualism was seen as a barrier to national progress, the study of indigenous languages was recommended as part of a search for knowledge about the nation's past. 22 References.