Linguistic Attitudes Towards the Mapuche Language: An Exploratory Among Youth from Araucanía and Biobío Regions in Chile

Abstract

Mapuzungun or Chedungun language is a quintessential part of Mapuche people’s identity, but this language is nowadays threatened by linguistic displacement driven by their sociopolitical minoritization and the advance of Spanish language as the national language. This article reports on a qualitative exploratory study carried out with twelve participants aged 18 and 27, from some Mapuche communities settled in the Araucanía and Biobío regions, in Chile. It aimed to analyze the main linguistic attitudes displayed by the Mapuche young participants towards Mapuzungun and the State-led process of language revival through the program of bilingual intercultural education. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted by bilingual collaborators from various communities in the abovementioned regions. Findings suggest an attitudinal conflict in these young people, which leads them to display very positive attitudes towards their native language along with high linguistic insecurity, grounded on a purist approach, which could influence their decision of avoiding speaking Mapuzungun. Concerning linguistic revitalization, participants identified different agents in charge of the process, with the school playing a fundamental role, provided it goes through structural changes. By making evident and projecting the motivations underlying community sociolinguistic behavior, examining minoritized language speakers’ beliefs provides inputs to design and deploy language revival and teaching programs.