Actitudes hacia las lenguas indígenas en un escenario de lenguas extranjeras: la Facultad de Idiomas Ensenada, UABC

Abstract

From a sociolinguistic perspective, this study analyzes attitudes toward indigenous languages in a university setting, where the presence of indigenous languages as an educational development option is scarce compared to the preference for foreign languages. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze attitudes toward indigenous languages among a group of students at the Language Faculty of Ensenada, UABC. A theoretical framework is followed and focuses on the components of linguistic attitudes and the Theory of Ecology Pressure, with some complementary concepts such as Linguistic Awareness, Linguistic Prejudice, and Polyphony of Voices. Based on the results of a survey among 30 seventh-semester students, participants from the two university degree programs at the Language Faculty of Ensenada and, through a qualitative analysis, findings show that most of the participants do not consider indigenous languages to be classified as “languages”, and would not choose to study them. However, some voices did consider the existence of indigenous languages eligibles for academic study, giving rise to positive and contrastive linguistic attitudes in this context.