ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the ongoing revitalization process of the Pipil/Nahuat language of El Salvador, an endangered language with less than 200 Elder speakers and with no intergenerational transmission. The process is based on a five-component revitalization model developed by the author. The discussion focuses on the Cuna Nahuat, an early immersion program for Pipil children ages three to five that functions since 2010 in the village of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in the province of Sononate, El Salvador, the last stronghold of Nahuat speakers. The Cuna Nahuat is run by Pipil women from the community who have been trained as teachers by Universidad Don Bosco. They are known as nanzin tamatxtiani or mother-teachers. These Pipil women grew up in a social exclusion system that prevented them from going to school. Illiteracy is the norm for Indigenous men and women in this community and elsewhere in El Salvador. Despite their lack of formal education, through training and hard work, they have become teachers and have gained the respect of the community. They serve as linguistic models for the children of the Cuna Nahuat who are to become the relief generation of Nahuat speakers. The Cuna Nahuat has had a positive effect on recovering the community’s Indigenous identity, a sine qua non for language revitalization.
