Peruvian Ministry of Education Makes 24 Indigenous Alphabets Official

Alumnos nivel inicial. Comunidad asháninka de Pamaquiari. Foto en Flicker del usuario  Global Humanitaria (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Kindergarten students. Ashaninka community in Pamaquiari. Photo on Flickr by user Global Humanitaria (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

The alphabets of 24 indigenous languages were made official in Peru as a result of joint efforts by the Ministry of Education and numerous indigenous communities. The documents were adopted by consensus and will be used to help preserve and improve the use of these languages, both in their written and spoken forms.

De ese modo, los 24 alfabetos deberán ser usados por las entidades públicas cuando tengan que emitir información escrita dirigida a esos grupos étnicos, en concordancia con lo dispuesto también por la Ley 29735 que regula el uso, preservación, desarrollo, recuperación, fomento y difusión de las lenguas originarias del Perú.
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De esa manera, se respeta el derecho de los niños y adolescentes a recibir educación en su lengua materna. Está comprobado que así aprenden mejor porque se sienten más motivados y porque se respeta su identidad cultural, fortaleciéndose su autoestima.

Thus, these 24 alphabets should be used by public entities every time they have to issue written information addressed to these ethnic groups, as it is established by the Law 29735, which regulates the use, preservation, development, recovery, foster and spread of the indigenous languages of Peru.
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In this way, the right of children and teenagers to be educated in their own native language is respected. It's been proven that this is the way they can learn better, as they feel more motivated, their cultural identity is respected, and their self-esteem becomes stronger.

As usual, Twitter echoed the news:

Ministry of Education makes official the alphabets of 24 indigenous languages, which will be used by all public entities.

Perú reconoce 24 alfabetos nativos.

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