International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism
Editor: Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor
Review Editor: Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University, Philadelpia
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Volume: 2 Number: 3 Page: 198–213
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Sustaining Indigenous Languages in Southeastern Peru
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Sheila Aikman
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The paper examines Muhlhausler's thesis that to understand the decline and loss of small languages we must examine a large range of 'ecological' factors which comprise the support system within which the
language has integrity and meaningfulness. Taking the case study of the Harakmbut peoples of Southeastern Peru, it examines the Harakmbut concept of territory (wandari) which provides parameters for understanding
the linguistic ecology and the nature and degree of change in the social, cultural and natural environments in which the Harakmbut and Spanish languages are used. It considers the role of intercultural
bilingual education in a context of increasing use of Spanish language and shrinking physical, social and cultural domains of Harakmbut language use. A survey of education programmes in the Peruvian Amazon,
and among other indigenous peoples, focused on language maintenance suggests critical directions for sustaining the Harakmbut language.
© Multilingual Matters 1998
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