Tec professor promotes conservation of native Mexican language

What began as a school project at PrepaTec Sonora Norte has become an initiative with statewide impact for the preservation of Cmiique Iitom, the native language of the Comcáac ethnic group in Sonora.

Fany Muchembled, a teacher at PrepaTec Sonora Norte, heads a project that has been nationally recognized as part of CONAHCyT’s National Strategic Education Program (Pronaces), a medium- and long-term research and advocacy program that seeks to promote social inclusion and the autonomy of individuals.

As part of their classes with the teacher, students from Sonora Norte help document traditional Comcáac narratives and then transform them into picture books to promote literacy in Cmiique Iitom and to share knowledge about indigenous communities and cultures.

Muchembled explains that the project not only develops intercultural competencies in students but also promotes recognition and respect for diversity and inclusion.

Students exchange perspectives, acquire didactic skills, and broaden their knowledge of indigenous cultures.

“The current situation of linguistic diversity in the world brings together my interests to work on preventing the loss of languages.”

Transcending through innovation and commitment

Muchembled, who currently teaches French at PrepaTec, is recognized for her dedication and quality of teaching, not only because French is her native language but also because of her passion for bringing innovative and educational experiences to her students.

Her interest in linguistic diversity is not a recent development. She studied a PhD in Language Sciences and specialized in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) for her undergraduate degree and in the description of indigenous languages for her master’s and doctoral degrees.

“I’ve been interested in teaching and the study of languages for a long time. The current situation of linguistic diversity in the world brings together both my interests to work on preventing the loss of languages,” she says.

Inside the classroom, her passion for teaching and cultural diversity drives her to create a learning experience and interaction between her students and the youth of Punta Chueca, one of the settlements in the Comcáac community.

“The project started in 2018 purely as a school project, with the main purpose of bringing PrepaTec students closer to linguistic and cultural diversity through a trip to Punta Chueca,” Muchembled recalls.

When she saw what an impact this had on the students involved, the proposal evolved into documenting traditional community narratives and transforming them into picture books in Spanish and Cmiique Iitom.

Although the main objective of this proposal is to preserve and share the language, the professor says that everyone involved communicates and learns.

“It was very interesting to see how the process continues to impact the intercultural competencies of the students, and now it also involves the speech community by conducting intercultural writing and digital editing workshops to make them participants in the process,” she says.

The importance of linguistic diversity in preserving culture

Muchembled explains the correlation between linguistic diversity and cultural diversity as a process to preserve and form a community. Indigenous peoples use speech to convey their cultural practices and the knowledge that shapes them.

According to UNESCO, there are 6,700 languages spoken in the world, and about 40% of them are in danger of disappearing.

“The disappearance of native languages represents the loss of an irreplaceable expression of the human experience, affecting the ethnic and cultural identity of indigenous peoples,” says the professor.

This situation of risk is often due to a reduced number of speakers, as well as a decrease in its use in the community and family spheres and its absence from the media, which limits the reproduction of the language and complicates its transmission to young people.

“The disappearance of native languages represents the loss of an irreplaceable expression of the human experience.”

Mexico has speakers of 68 indigenous languages belonging to 11 linguistic families, among which Cmiique Iitom stands out as an isolated language since it is the only one belonging to its linguistic family and has no variants.

With just over 700 speakers, the Cmiique Iitom language is at high risk of disappearing. Although its speakers maintain a rich oral tradition that preserves their history and culture, only a small part of this tradition has been presented in written form.

Because of this, a very small number of speakers of Cmiique Iitom know how to write their native language, making initiatives like Professor Muchembled’s project crucial to its preservation.
 

Transformational Impact: Making a mark on diversity and inclusion

The basis of this project’s importance is the shared learning experience and cultural legacy that it generates in the students and the Comcáac community, said Muchembled.

Its recognition and funding as a national project of Pronaces Educación 2021-2024 has allowed the Sonora team to move forward with this initiative.

Currently, the project is in search of funding to achieve its proposed development goals in order to impact and reach more people inside and outside the community.

“The idea is to look for organizations and other ways to finance it. We also seek the support of students to work on these projects through scholarship services, collaborating with language specialists and community illustrators.”

Muchembled believes that the incorporation of technological tools and resources will contribute to the dissemination of the project, whether through educational platforms or the ongoing construction of its own web page.

YOU’LL ALSO WANT TO READ: