México: patrimonio lingüístico y Tratado de Libre Comercio

Abstract

The globalization that characterizes the relationships between the countries in the last decade is not constrained to economics. Commercial treaties such as NAFTA between Mexico and its northern neighbors have an impact in nations * internal and cultural processes; hence they may affect the status of each country's linguistic legacy if no mechanism to protect it is implemented. This paper is an attempt to encourage serious reflection on three aspects of our linguistic situation. In the first part; it provides a critical review of the linguistic policies carried out by the Mexican State in the last decades. The second part calls our attention to the increasing presence of Spanish language within U.S.A. 's borders; furthermore; it offers some guidelines concerning the contradictions of the status of this language in that country. In the third part; it points out some specific contexts in Mexico where the presence of American English language has increased. Finally; it proposes the development of a linguistic policy that both reinforces our linguistic plurality and maintains the status of Spanish in the multilingual NAFTA arena.