Topic: 2024-Indigenous Languages
Country: Peru
Delegate Name: Izzy Sheppard
Delegate Name: Izzy Sheppard
Position: Republic of Peru
Committee: SOCHUM
School: Williamston High School
Topic: Indigenous Languages
As globalization of the world, socially, culturally, and economically, and major global languages emerge, smaller, local indigenous languages suffer. By the year 2100, experts predict that 50-95% of indigenous languages may go extinct, a shocking statistic when considering there are over 6,700 languages. The United Nations has made many steps to combat this loss of culture One such way the UN has done this is by drawing more attention globally to indigenous languages, and the threat which they are under, encouraging governments and NGOs alike to aid in preserving the language of indigenous peoples. Furthermore, the UN has declared many rights that should be given to those speaking indigenous languages. These rights range from education, and the right that Indigenous speakers have to teach and develop their languages and traditions to younger generations and control of their education, their rights to produce media in their languages, and their rights to appropriate access to interpreters and translators in legal proceedings to ensure they can communicate in their mother tongue. Despite these efforts to protect indigenous languages by the UN, many more steps must be taken to ensure the centerpiece of many’s ancestral culture is protected.
In Peru, the indigenous languages have a rich history and tradition that is under threat. There are over 48 officially recognized languages spoken in Peru, all very distinct from one another, with even more separate dialects totaling approximately 90 dialects. Peru has taken many steps to aid the preservation of these languages. In 2011, Peru Signed Law 29735 into law and provided rights for the development, revitalization, use, and preservation of indigenous languages. This was the first of its kind legislature in Peru as it required the government to recognize, protect, and promote the languages of Indigenous people. It required actual government acknowledgment of Indigenous languages, and that the government conduct a nationwide registration for native languages, and update a ethnic and linguistic map. It additionally requires all public administrations to communicate in all languages and dialects of Peru. This represents Peru’s commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples to preserve their heritage. Furthermore, Peru has also participated in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages, Peru has implemented plans to preserve the languages of Kukama Kukama, and Taushiro, a language spoken by only one person, further showing Peru’s commitment to preserving the culture of their native speakers.
Moving forward, Peru would like to see further interest in developing strategies for preserving indigenous languages. A possible solution would be to develop a strategy of getting more and more Indigenous languages and cultures to be digitized and stored on the web so that they can dodge the threat of being completely lost. Solutions to this could be to establish a digital library of Indigenous languages, that would encourage natives to upload their languages to a virtual space that could allow all people to access it, further supporting interest in a country’s culture, and likely promoting the global interest in more Indigenous related items, such as books, or art, and the sharing of cultures, language, and ideas globally.
