The Ethnolinguistic Vitality of A'ingae in Ecuador

Abstract

Ethnolinguistic vitality (EV) refers to the ability of an ethnolinguistic group to maintain its collective identity in intercultural contexts in the long term. EV is typically evaluated using psychological, demographic, political, economic and geographic factors tied to language domains and intergeneration transmission, and by directly examining trends in language use. In its simplest form, EV places a language on a continuum from “vital” to “endangered” based on how often, widely and diversely it is spoken. The recent attention paid to EV owes to increasing pressures on minority languages which have put thousands of Indigenous languages — including 400 in Amazonia — potentially at risk. A'ingae (Cofán, Kofán; ISO: con) is a language isolate spoken by around 1,500 A’i (“people”) whose ancestral territory lies at the crossroads of the Andean foothills and Amazon basin in northeastern Ecuador and southwestern Colombia. The relative vitality of A’ingae in Ecuador differentiates it from Colombia where it is endangered, although the EV of A’ingae has never been systematically evaluated. I combine subjective data from a sociolinguistic survey conducted by A’ingae Language Documentation Project (ALDP) team members in the communities of Sinangoe, Dureno, and Duvuno in 2020 with “objective” data that includes government policies, legal texts, census data, language documentation and teaching materials to evaluate A’ingae vitality using 18 variables that combine UNESCO’s Language Endangerment and Vitality (LVE) Index, Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS), Lewis and Simons’ Extended GIDS (EGIDS), Landweer’s Indicators of Ethnolinguistic Vitality (IEV), ELDIA’s European Language Vitality Barometer (EuLaViBar) and ELCat’s Language Endangerment Index (LEI), adding one additional factor — land base and geography. To my knowledge, this is the first study that synthesizes the aforementioned EV models and applies them to an Indigenous language. The results of this study indicate that Ecuadorian A’ingae remains relatively vital, with roughly five out of six A’i children and youth being L1 speakers. This implies that even under a worst case scenario, critical endangerment of A’ingae remains two to three generations away. Still, intergenerational transmission, arguably the most critical EV factor, is assessed as “unsafe” because A’ingae has been displaced (by Spanish) in some homes. Proportion of speakers and speakers’ attitudes about their own language are the highest scoring (i.e., most vital) factors as assessed based on UNESCO’s framework, while response to new domains and media, quantity, quality and accessibility of documentation, and government attitudes and policies are the lowest scoring (i.e., least vital). One unique aspect of A’ingae is its high variance in EV between communities, with Dureno displaying high vitality, Sinangoe intermediate-high vitality and Duvuno intermediate-low vitality. This study did not extend to the Ecuadorian A’i communities of Zábalo and Chandia Na'en where the language is believed to remain quite vital. One objective of this study is to signal processes that favor, threaten, or somehow effect the EV of A'ingae in the long term. Applying insights from research on global drivers of language endangerment to critically examine the A’ingae case study, there are a number of factors that emerge as potentially relevant to language shift (A’ingae > Spanish) patterns observed in A’ingae communities. These include: pressure from extractive industries, transition to a cash economy, road access, formal education and intermarriage. On the other hand, the maintenance of A'ingae as a vibrant living language in Ecuador to the present day represents an impressive act of resilience on the part of the A'i, with the following factors thought to be linked to A’ingae vitality: traditional livelihoods, territorial control, strict immigration policies, multi-generational households and identity function. With A’ingae remaining relatively vital in Ecuador, now is an ideal time to undertake language planning efforts. The following are proposed interventions that could help secure A'ingae into the future, though in reality any action that increases A’i sovereignty will support the vitality of the language: speaking A’ingae “from the home” (i.e., maintaining high use of the language in the home domain), teaching through A’ingae in schools, promoting A’ingae in local, regional and national policies, developing A’ingae media and technology, undertaking A’ingae maintenance and revitalization projects and expanding the lands and waters under A’i control. The ALDP and associated researchers are committed to supporting A'i communities with their ongoing language documentation and planning efforts.