Bilingual Socialization in San Isidro Buensuceso, Tlaxcala, Mexico

Abstract

In this article, we analyse the different processes of language socialization that are carried out in San Isidro Buensuceso, Tlaxcala, Mexico. In this community, 77% of the population is bilingual. They speak Nahuatl and Spanish, the remaining 23% are Spanish monolinguals. San Isidro Buensuceso is a particular case of language maintenance in the Malintzin region which is characterised by a rapid language shift. In most of the communities surrounding the Malintzin volcano, Nahuatl is mainly spoken by adults and late adults. Young people and children are fluent Spanish speakers with some command of Nahuatl as a receptive competence. For this research, an ethnographic work was carried out in the community with special attention to three families. The study shows that there is not a unique model of language socialization but three approaches on a continuum that goes from more Nahuatl on one extreme to more Spanish on the other. Two conclusions can be derived from the research. On the one hand, due to the high number of bilinguals in each family, some children do not learn Nahuatl from their parents but from some other members of the family or friends; on the other hand, child bilingualism disguises the real level of Nahuatl spoken by younger generations. The research shows that some children, although considered bilingual by their parents, command very few language genres in the indigenous language. This way, language shift continue growing without much noticing. This research contributes to the languages shift theory by signalling that languages do not disappear or are shifted at once but through the erosion and substitution of language genres.