Dissonances in the definitions of mother tongue for toba/qom speakers: a look from linguistic anthropology

Abstract

Linguistic Anthropology is an interdisciplinary field that provides tools to study the complex relationships between languages, cultures and identities. From this approach, this paper reflects on the complex uses of the notion of "mother tongue" by people who recognize themselves as indigenous, but are not speakers of the heritage language of their people. This paper is based on ethnographic materials as a result of prolonged field work with the Toba/Qom people of the Chaco province. In the conclusions, links are established between the colloquial uses of the term mother tongue and the implications that this entails in the planning of Bilingual Intercultural Education.