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Thursday, July 03, 2008

A Different ESL

Once you move south of the border, the meaning of ESL changes.

It goes from
English as a Second Language
to.....
Español como Segunda Lengua

What you may not realize is that there are a large number of locals that have Spanish as a second language. Patzcuaro sits on the edge of the Purépechan Mesa, the traditional home of the indigenous Purépecha. In these homes Purépechan is the first languange and Spanish is a second language. One website I found gave the statistic that 75% of the indigenous people are bilingual and 25% speak Purépecha only.

On a drive yesterday to Cocucho (that is another post) was a nice surprise to start seeing signs in the Purépechan language.

Translation Anyone???

The village of Cheran even has a Purépechan radio station!

4 comments:

Babs said...

WOW! I've not ventured to Cocucho and never seen those signs - how cool!
I have a dear friend, Arminda, in Patzcauro (well she lives in Ihautzio) who is Purepecha and I LOVE to hear her speak her language........

Todd said...

Hey Babs, I think I have heard of her.

Doesn't she have that B&B I have heard such good things about.

http://www.casasantiagomex.com

Don't they also act as tour guides?

Todd

1st Mate said...

The sign probably says something like, "You see, Purepecha people, we can make signs for you, too, even though you may not be able to read them and may be scratching your heads and wondering what they say. But don't be paranoid, it's just our friendly way of saying 'hello' and 'we just want you to be happy'and 'your tax dollars at work'". They're big on self-aggrandizement in Mexico.

Todd said...

Actually 1st mate, I have just gotten the official translation and it is exactly as you have stated!


Todd

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