Linguistic revitalization of Rama language in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua

Abstract

In this paper, the revitalization of the Rama language, which strengthened the cultural identity of the Rama people on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, was approached in a descriptive and chronological manner. The rescue of this language arose from the demand and request of the Rama indigenous communities in the 1980s, thus initiating the struggle for their cultural and linguistic identity as an indigenous people. On the other hand, the revitalization began in 1983 with the participation of 25 people, including children, youth and Rama families, with activities such as training courses and workshops, contributing to intercultural education from an indigenous rights perspective. In this work a descriptive and chronological analysis was carried out, with a qualitative ethnographic approach, to document the rescue of cultural elements, through didactic means and materials, which guaranteed and provided the scope for the process of linguistic revitalization and strengthened the socio-cultural identity of the Rama indigenous community. In conclusion, this sociolinguistic phenomenon, developed since the 1980s, strengthened the equal rights of the Rama people in the country's language policy. Currently, a mechanism has been developed for community participation in the prevalence of their culture and native language through the promotion of a program of revitalization and rescue of cultural values that, since 2017, has promoted a teaching and learning strategy with playful techniques for the language acquisition that is still in danger of extinction.