Paísajes lingüísticos en Latinoamérica El caso de las lenguas indígenas en los escenarios urbanos

Central to this study is to delve into the linguistic landscapes of three Latin American cities, i.e. Lima, Mexico City, and Santiago, and explore the processes behind the absence of Amerindian elements in their open spaces. The underlying notion is that visibility, vitality and symbolism are key concepts to understand how a city chooses to express itself through the use of written language. But also, that linguistic landscapes of an urban area do not necessarily reflect the presence of specific language communities. Due to the status allocated to indigenous minorities within the social hierarchy in most Latin American countries, it is noticeable that Amerindian languages are absent from signs, advertisement, place names, public notifications, etc. In order to review the attitudes of non-indigenous citizens towards Amerindian languages, a series of interviews and surveys were conducted in Lima and Santiago. The results indicate that most citizens see functional purposes in recognizing graphically the linguistic heritage of minorities, agree that city authorities fail to promote an all-embracing language policy, and view positively the visual recognition of linguistic heterogeneity.