The Politics of Mayan Linguistics in Guatemala: Native Speakers, Expert Analysts, and the Nation
@article{French2003ThePO, title={The Politics of Mayan Linguistics in Guatemala: Native Speakers, Expert Analysts, and the Nation}, author={Brigittine M. French}, journal={Pragmatics}, year={2003}, volume={13}, pages={483-498} }
In this essay I examine the emergence and transformation of linguistic analysis as an authoritative field of knowledge in the context of competing nationalists agendas in Guatemala. I show how various social actors including missionary linguists, North American secular linguists, and Maya linguists are implicated in the struggle for authority in “science of language.” I argue that in these intellectual and political struggles, the awareness and participation of the “native speaker” is central…
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