The Power of Nahuatl: The Importance of Cultural & Language Preservation

The Nahuatl language is the main language of the Nahua people, a population of roughly 1.7 million strong in Central Mexico. Once spoken by tens ofmillions throughout the Azteca regions, Nahuatl was the main language of the Aztec Empire and was widely considered a language of prestige, carrying with it generations upon generations of ancestral stories and knowledge. This knowledge was decimated in the face of Spanish colonization as European teachings forcefully overtook the cultural dominance of this linguistic staple. Now, Nahuatl continues to carry its history, but in the face of potential linguistic and cultural assimilation. This project focuses on explaining and illustrating the cultural and linguistic significance of Nahuatl, encourages discussion on the topic oflinguistic preservation and the importance of preserving the cultural heritage inlaid in written and spoken language, and would also focus on teaching individuals bits and pieces of the language as well!I have spent the past several months learning Nahuatl and aboutits cultural importance and will provide a snapshot of a language that has existed since the dawn of organized civilization in the Americas. I will discuss why not only this language and culture should be preserved, but why all languages that are facing the same existential threat should be preserved just as well.