%0 Journal Article
%T ¡°El empleo de las gram¨¢ticas misioneras y otras fuentes en la primera clasificaci¨®n de las lenguas de M¨¦xico¡± [¡°The Use of Missionary Grammars and Other Sources in the First Classification of Languages in Mexico¡±]
%A B¨¢rbara Cifuentes
%J Revista Argentina de Historiograf¨ªa Ling¨¹¨ªstica
%D 2010
%I Revista Argentina de Historiograf¨ªa Ling¨¹¨ªstica
%X This paper is an approach to the first qualitative and quantitative analysis of Amerindian languages in Mexico by Manuel Orozco y Berra (1864), whose expectations were in line with contemporary ethnographical research. We describe how Orozco y Berra built his corpus, as well as his constant references to the hypotheses in American and European comparative studies including Mexican languages. The work done by Orozco y Berra involved the assessment of modern comparative research and the critical review of colonial historical and grammatical sources. It was aimed at a more certain reconstruction of the movements in space and time of the peoples speaking the languages in the sources and at the establishment of a genealogy: families, languages, dialects.Enlightenment ideas like progress or civilisation informed Orozco y Berra¡¯s work, both hisresearch and results, enabling him to reconcile his interpretation of the aboriginal peoples¡¯ levels of civilisation with their languages¡¯ structural features and vitality.
%K History of linguistics in Mexico
%K Classification of native languages in Mexico
%K Manuel Orozco y Berra
%U http://www.rahl.com.ar/Revistas/II%20-%202010/cifuentes-RAHL-(2)2010.pdf