What makes us human He is the work of Brazilian linguist and writer Victor Santos, with illustrations by the Italian artist Anna Forlati.
The book uses the form of a riddle to present young readers the concept of language while underlines the need to preserve all languages worldwide.
“I have existed for a long time, more time than toys, dogs or any person you know,” the book begins.
“My roots date from several centuries. Some are even much greater. I am everywhere, in each country, in each city, in each school and in each home …”
Linguistic diversity in danger
UNESCO estimates that there are about 8,324 spoken or signed languages, with around 7,000 still in use today. However, linguistic diversity is threatened since many languages disappear at an accelerating rate due to globalization and social changes.
To help safeguard this heritage, UNESCO is joining forces with editorials around the world to translate What makes us human In as many languages as possible, with a special approach to indigenous languages.
For example, it is now available in Mapuzugún, the native language of the people of Mapuche in Chile.
Cayullán Nevenca, a Mapuche educator, with traditional clothes and jewels.
Love for mother tongue
Cayullán Nevenca, a traditional Mapuche educator, translated the book to her mother tongue. She expressed her love for Mapuzugún in a recent interview with UN news.
“My mother taught me, and that is why I carry it in my skin, in my heart and in my head,” he said, speaking from Araucanía, the Mapuche Heartland.
“I present it in all territories, wherever it is. Language is the engine that preserves culture, spirituality, the worldview of our indigenous peoples, respect and value of life.”
For 25 years, the UN has celebrated the International Day of Mother Language on February 21 to highlight the importance of preserving linguistic diversity and promoting all the mother languages, which in the simplest definition are those acquired naturally without being officially taught.
‘A living treasure’
Mrs. Cayullán believes that everyone’s “mother tongue” is much more than that.
“It is a living human treasure, so it must be carried, taught and educated in establishments where children are confined to monolingualism but have the ability to learn the culture of indigenous peoples, the earth, in this case, the Chilean territory and all the territories,” he said.
With this conviction, she joined enthusiastically to What makes us human Project when planet sustainable, the publishing house co-editing the bilingual version of Mapuzugún-Spanish of the book with UNESCO, proposed that she translate it.
“Ultimately, it is not just the translation, but also the interpretation of the book. Being a translator and interpreter of the Mapuche language allows me to have the knowledge and the ability to understand a text as important as What makes us human“She said.
“It was very relevant because the voice of my people, the voice of my ancestors, will reach others, other countries, other territories, which will learn about my culture. For me, it was incredibly important.”
Cover of the book What makes us human in its bilingual edition of Mapuzugún-Spanish
Recovering ‘what was already there’
Mrs. Cayullán lives in the bustling capital of Chile, Santiago. She said the book shows how to recognize the simple things in life.
“Talk about the games or toys that children use and how we recover them, as well as the value of these games or toys, which often forget. Before all this globalization, many things existed, and this also includes the knowledge of language, which was already there.
“However, over time, everything has been left behind. The book talks about how to recover what was already there, how to understand the knowledge provided by what existed before globalization.”
She said this was especially true for indigenous languages, “especially the language of the Mapuche people.”
Language makes us human
When we asked us what makes us human, Mrs. Cayullán highlighted the values of respect and appreciation of linguistic and territorial identity.
“For us, this is a living treasure that must be transmitted, generation after generation. Language is the means that we have to communicate among us and share our culture, so what this book says is so important, and also says in Mapuzugún,” he replied.
What makes us human It has been very well received in Chile, where it has initially distributed in cities where children only speak Spanish.
“I was in an event where many books were delivered, and obviously I went with my Mapuche clothes,” Cayullán recalled.
“The children thought Mapuches no longer existed; they thought it came, I don’t know, another planet. They received very happy books, excited to see me and have a book translated into Mapuzugún. It was a very emotional event.”
Repression history
When Spanish Conquerors Arrived in what is now Chile in 16th Centurio, Mapuzugún was spoken from the Choapa River, which begins in the mountains of the Andes, to the island of Chiloé in the south.
At that time, several groups shared this language. Given the Spanish presence, their ties were joined and strengthened, and finally formed the Mapuche identity.
The Mapuche are the largest indigenous community in Chile, which total more than 1.4 million. They mostly live in the central part of the country, but there is also a small group in the province of Neuquén in Argentina. Most live in urban areas.
Unfortunately, due to a repression story, only 10 percent of Mapuche speaks Mapuzugún today, and only another 10 percent understand.
Mapuche Children of the Youth Orchestra Tirúa in the launch of the “Much Chile” campaign in the capital, Santiago, in 2019.
Defend and encourage
When asked if What makes us human It could help children recover pride in Mapuzugún, Mrs. Cayullán’s response was clear.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “Yes, because it is a very easy -to -understand book. I think the texts should be done with monolingual children in mind. I have faith that it will have an impact on society and the new generation.”
She is inflexible to defending her mother tongue and encouraging her use is a duty.
“I have the responsibility of transmitting knowledge. That is why I have this team of traditional educators where I promote Mapuzugún in a city because we all live in Santiago.
“But from here, we are working with the traditional educators who are currently in schools, teaching these monolingual students from different communes of the Metropolitan Region.”
‘My grandmother speaks like you’
Mrs. Cayullán explained that the efforts to revitalize their language are slowly beginning to bear fruit through the support of the Chilean Ministry of Education that is helping to spread What makes us human In schools.
He pointed out that since 1992, schools located in the Mapuche territories have been teaching Mapuzugún as part of their curriculum.
“The child recovers his identity to see someone, maybe with traditional clothes, maybe wearing Mapuche jewels. They will recover his identity.
Fear and discrimination
The Mapuche educator recognizes that, despite these advances, there is still a “red zone” in southern Chile, where Mapuzugún is forbidden to speak.
“It is forbidden to be indigenous; cultural meetings are prohibited. And this happens as a daily war in the red zone,” he said.
“If one passes through the road, the Chilean state guard is seen, where they violate the rights of children but also of indigenous communities. And those children will not speak Mapuzugún, but they will not speak out of fear, not because they dislike them.”
Unfortunately, Mrs. Cayullán also noticed some of the discriminatory incidents faced by indigenous peoples because they are different.
“I walk on Santiago in my traditional outfit, I have often asked me: ‘Do you come from the area where they burn trucks?’ This is a violation of people’s rights.
Respect for diversity
But What makes us human It promotes respect for diversity, which fills her with hope.
“We should learn to respect all diversity because we live in a diverse world, and today we do not respect that diverse world,” he said.
“And this diverse world is composed not only of human beings but also everything around us, everything that has life. In that diversity, languages are included.”