Vol. 24 No. 1 (2016)
Articles

A Case for Reversing Language Shift on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua

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  • Barbara Jean Tasker-Mueller
Barbara Jean Tasker-Mueller
Western Washington University
Bio
Volume 24, Number 1 (2016)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15173/nexus.v24i1.1097

Published 2016-12-05

Keywords

  • The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua,
  • the Creole people of Nicaragua,
  • reversing language shift,
  • indigenous language rights.

Abstract


I examine the work being done by the Linguistic Research and Revitalization Institute (IPILC) at the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN) and the dilemmas faced in claiming and implementing the linguistic rights that were granted under the 1987 Law of Autonomy for the Caribbean Coast Regions. The problems I discuss in this case are not unique to Nicaragua’s Creoles, nor to Black diaspora cultures, they are merely part of larger issues which affect all minoritized groups who seek to assert the legitimacy of their languages and cultures within hegemonic discourses around cultural difference.

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