TY - JOUR

T1 - Nahuatl among Jehovah's Witnesses of Hueyapan, Morelos: A case of Spontaneous revitalization

AU - Pharao Hansen, Magnus

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - The sociolinguistic situation of Hueyapan, Morelos, is similar to those described in other studies of modern Nahua communities: the language is in a rapid process of decline. This article describes the situation within one particular subcommunity of the town: the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Here the Nahuatl language has experienced a revival within the last five years, to a degree where congregational meetings are now held mostly in Nahuatl, and where young Witnesses are probably the only group of youths in Hueyapan to communicate daily in Nahuatl. It is argued that this situation arose as a result of the combination of the general sociolinguistic background in Hueyapan and the specific value system and social dynamics that exist in the community of Jehovah's Witnesses.

AB - The sociolinguistic situation of Hueyapan, Morelos, is similar to those described in other studies of modern Nahua communities: the language is in a rapid process of decline. This article describes the situation within one particular subcommunity of the town: the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Here the Nahuatl language has experienced a revival within the last five years, to a degree where congregational meetings are now held mostly in Nahuatl, and where young Witnesses are probably the only group of youths in Hueyapan to communicate daily in Nahuatl. It is argued that this situation arose as a result of the combination of the general sociolinguistic background in Hueyapan and the specific value system and social dynamics that exist in the community of Jehovah's Witnesses.

U2 - 10.1515/ijsl.2010.026

DO - 10.1515/ijsl.2010.026

M3 - Journal article

SP - 125

JO - International Journal of the Sociology of Language

JF - International Journal of the Sociology of Language

SN - 0165-2516

IS - 203

ER -