Indigenous Language Rights in Peru: First Came the Law, Now Comes the Change.
By Abby Cote
There are at least forty seven different languages recognized in Peru.[1] Many of these languages survived even against immense efforts by Spanish speaking colonizers to end their existence.[2] Today, the Quechua language remains the primary language of approximately 14 percent of Peruvians,[3] spoken by roughly 4.5 million Peruvians.[4] Many of these speakers are monolingual, speaking only Quechua and not Spanish.[5] Monolingual Quechuan speakers largely live in poorer and rural areas that already face disadvantages.[6]
The repression of Peruvians speaking indigenous languages has existed for centuries. Language became associated with class beginning in the early days of colonization.[7] For instance, Quechua was banned during the colonial struggled in the 1700s in an effort to diminish the strength of the indigenous elite,[8] and until the 1970s, the Quechua people were legally treated as second class citizens.[9] Putting legal status to language was used as a tool to oppress and demean indigenous people in order to gain power.[10] Spanish was imposed as the official language of Peru and speaking Spanish became a symbol of social status.[11]
Language based discrimination still exists in Peru today. Today, Peruvians who do not speak Spanish experience “linguistic exclusion” in “employment, health, education, and of course, in the social sphere.”[12] Additionally, “[d]iscrimination is so blatant that many Quechua speakers – 13% of the Peruvian population . . . decide not to teach their descendants the language for fear they will be rejected or mocked.”[13]
Language rights of linguistic minorities have been increasingly recognized as a human right.[14] The question then becomes, how does a nation like Peru enforce these rights in light of centuries of disempowerment? Over the last several decades, Peru has slowly begun to legally restore language rights to indigenous speakers.[15] However, as seen in Peru’s process, the legal recognition of language rights is not always enough.
Peru’s initial recognition of indigenous language rights began in 1972. A new government came to power with the promise to empower the rural poor, many of whom spoke an indigenous language.[16] They created the first legislative rights for Peru’s indigenous speakers.[17]
In 1993, these rights became constitutionally protected when they were adopted in the nation’s new constitution.[18] For example, Article 2.19 established a right to an ethnic and cultural identity and defined the State’s duty to protect those rights.[19] These rights include a constitutional right to use indigenous languages when interacting with any public authority with the assistance of interpreters, and a constitutional right to bilingual education.[20]
However, despite the constitutional and statutory recognition of language rights, most language rights remained unrealized.[21] For instance, preschool and secondary school continued to be primarily taught in Spanish alone, and interpretation is hard to come by.[22]
In 2006, three Quechua congresswomen were elected to office and took the oath of office in Quechua.[23] They exposed the discrepancies between the country’s language rights and the way it treated indigenous language speakers.[24] Their diligent efforts finally led to the 2011 enactment of the Indigenous Languages Act.[25] This act statutorily enforced constitutional rights by making “official the country’s estimated forty-seven indigenous languages in the areas where they predominate,” meaning these speakers statutorily “have the right to use their own languages” or be provided an interpreter “when accessing public services”—a right the government had to enforce.[26]
However, implementing these laws has been an uphill battle. For instance, translators of indigenous languages have struggled to interpret the new laws because the meanings do not always translate, placing indigenous speakers at legal disadvantages in knowing their rights. [27] Additionally, translators and interpreters have had to be trained in these skills, which has been a difficult and timely process.[28] Many government agencies lack the resources to implement the language requirements, or have lacked employees who were able to provide bilingual support.[29] Overall, the laws have been neglected, leaving indigenous language speakers to continue to be treated as second class citizens. [30]
Politicians are continuing to engage the country on the importance of enforcing language rights and the discrimination faced by indigenous language learners. For instance, the Prime Minister of Peru, Guido Bellido, gave his first speech to Congress in Quechua in August of 2021.[31] He was reprimanded by the President of Congress for not speaking in Spanish, even though his right to speak in Quechua is legislatively and constitutionally protected.[32] Bellido addressed the discrimination by publicly stating, “My Sisters and Brothers, in Article 48 of the Constitution, it says ‘We can speak in both Quechua and Spanish.’”[33]
Peru’s language rights laws continue to be overrun by discrimination toward indigenous people. While Peru has come a long way in legally protected languages, it has a longer way to go in socially recognizing that indigenous language speakers are equal. While laws provide a starting ground for change, they require the power of advocates and social change to bring them to fruition. It may be a long journey for the laws governing language rights to be taking seriously in Peru, but with the voices of the nation’s leaders reminding constituents of their rights, indigenous languages will hopefully be protected and preserved for generations to come.
[1] Stéphanie Rousseau & Eduardo Dargent, The Construction of Indigenous Language Rights in Peru: A Language Regime Approach, 11 J. Politics Latin America 161, 167 (2019).
[2] Id. at 163.
[3] Id.
[4] Highland Quechua, Minority Rights Grp Int’l (May 2018), https://minorityrights.org/minorities/highland-quechua/.
[5] Id.
[6] Franklin Briceno, Quechua Language Endures in Peru Despite Centuries of Discrimination, The Associated Press (Sept. 18, 2021), https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/sep/18/quechua-language-endures-in-peru-despite/.
[7] Rousseau, supra note 1, at 167.
[8] Rousseau, supra note 1, at 166-67.
[9] Id. at 167.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Discriminated Against for Speaking Their Own Language, The World Bank (Apr. 16, 2014), https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/04/16/discriminados-por-hablar-su-idioma-natal-peru-quechua.
[13] Id.
[14] Language /rights of Linguistic Minorities, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner (2021), https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/minorities/srminorities/pages/languagerights.aspx.
[15] Rousseau, supra note 1, at 167.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id. at 168.
[20] Id.
[21] Id. at 167.
[22] Patricia Ames, Language, Culture, and Identity in the Transition to Primary School: Challenges to Indigenous Children’s Rights to Education in Peru, 32 Int’l J. Edu. Dev. 454, 456 (2012).
[23] Rosaleen Howard et al., Translating Rights: The Peruvian Indigenous Languages Act in Quechua and Aymara, 40 Amerindia 219, 219 (2018).
[24] Id. at 169.
[25] Howard, supra note 24 at 222.
[26] Id. at 222.
[27] Id. at 223.
[28] Id. at 222.
[29]Rousseau, supra note 1, at 167.
[30] Zuleyka Zevallos, Race and Indigenous Language Rights in Peru, Other Sociologist, (Sept. 20, 2021), https://othersociologist.com/2021/09/20/race-and-indigenous-language-rights-in-peru/.
[31] Id.
[32] Id.
[33] Id.