Guatemalan Spanish As Act Of Identity: An Analysis Of Language And Minor Literature Within Modern Maya Literary Production

Author

Kenneth Yanes, Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

6-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Magdalena Perkowska

Subject Categories

Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics | Indigenous Studies | Latin American Literature

Keywords

Bilingualism, Guatemala, Ideology of Language, Literary Production, Maya, Minor Literature

Abstract

My study approaches the use of Guatemalan Spanish in modern Maya literary works through a theoretical framework drawn on theories of "purity" and mestizaje, the concept of minor literature, and "image" and ideology of language. I problematize the "major"/"minor" dichotomy of language based on a Eurocentric view of the dominance of national languages as the extremely diverse linguistic ecology of Latin American lends itself to the deterritorialization of hegemonic discourse, but without sustaining a neat categorization of language. Guatemalan Spanish is a heavily Maya-inflected interlanguage share by all Guatemalans. Mayan writers chose purposefully to counter the ladino ethnocentrism of the time, including its ideologies of racial and linguistic "purity." In spite of the racial caste system that stealthily thrives to this day, these literary works force readers to confront that not only ladino (mestizo) culture has infiltrated Maya society, but that all Guatemalans have been culturally and linguistically mayanized.

Recommended Citation

Yanes, Kenneth, "Guatemalan Spanish As Act Of Identity: An Analysis Of Language And Minor Literature Within Modern Maya Literary Production" (2014). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/305