J. Freeland, AN INTERESTING ABSENCE - THE GENDERED STUDY OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN LATIN-AMERICA, International journal of educational development, 18(3), 1998, pp. 161-179
This paper surveys sociolinguistic research into language and gender i
n Latin America, and identifies a gap specifically in the area of gend
ered language use in interpersonal interaction. It also notes a genera
l paucity of gendered research on bilingual behaviour, which extends b
eyond Latin America. Through an analysis of the very small body of suc
h research which has been carried out in Latin America, it examines so
me serious implications of these gaps for the model of 'bilingual-inte
rcultural' education now gaining currency with Latin American governme
nts and international agencies. It seeks explanations for these absenc
es in the Latin American context (in Latin American feminism, in the r
ole of language in Latin American nation-building and myths of mestiza
je, and in the way sociolinguistics has been institutionalised there)
and in wider theoretical debates within the social sciences. Finally,
it raises questions as to how this lack might be remedied, in such a w
ay as to further the development of culturally appropriate education p
rogrammes for Latin America's indigenous peoples. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc
ience Ltd. All rights reserved.