Controversias lingüísticas e ideologías sobre el mapuzungun en el Primer Congreso del Área Araucana Argentina

Abstract

The article analyzes, from a historiographical-linguistic perspective, the discussion of Mapuzungun, the language of the Mapuche, in the First Congress of the Argentine Araucanian Area, held in San Martin de los Andes (Northern Patagonia) in 1961. In that event, academic actors, researchers belonging to a regional intellectual collective, and indigenous participants discussed topics related to cultural heritage and the current situation of the communities. We pay special attention to the creation of the Linguistics and Toponymy Commission, whose debates ensured continuity of the inquiries on Mapuzungun that began in the early 20th century. During the analysis of the presentations, we recorded the theoretical frameworks and ideological-linguistic positions supported by the different participants. We also describe the effects of the Congress on the reconfiguration of the field of studies of that language in Argentina, in a period in which linguistics began to achieve autonomy with respect to ethnological approaches.