Acceso usuarios
Tim Marr
While many language maintenance projects can be thought of as being essentially 'top-down' (directed by the state) or 'bottom-up' (generated at grass-roots level), not all can be so easily characterised. This paper considers the case of the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, an institution based in Cusco, Peru, which is ostensibly dedicated to the support and maintenance of the Quechua language. Drawing on writing by and about the Academia, but principally on a personal interview with one of its senior officials, the paper suggests that the institution shows signs of an ambivalent and potentially conflictive attitude both to the Peruvian state and to ordinary speakers of the language. The discourse of some of the Academia's members is examined, and some of the political and cultural implications of this discourse are drawn out. It is suggested, finally, that despite its generally good intentions, the Academia as presently constituted could produce potentially negative effects on Quechua language maintenance in Peru.
