The Chilean Interest in the Conservation and Learning of the Native Language Mapudungun in Chile

Abstract

The native language Mapudungun of the Mapuche people in Chile is in danger of going extinct because its use has been and is being discriminated against in society. In order to preserve the language, the Chilean government has been implementing programs to teach it in Chilean schools with a high percentage of native students. However, these measures are not enough to  stop the extinction of the language, nor do they provide bilingual education to all native children. The objective of this study was to investigate the support of the Chilean people for a bilingual education including all Chilean children, as well as for the  conservation of the native language Mapudungun. The Chilean opinion was investigated by means of an online survey which has shown that the interviewed Chileans support not only the conservation of Mapudungun but also the teaching of it in Chilean schools for all Chilean children.