Abstract

Language is one of the most relevant cognitive tasks in child development and its acquisition is mediated, among others, by ethnic and cultural factors. Objective: To characterize the practices and beliefs about language teaching and stimulation strategies of rural Mapuche Children aged between 0 to 4 years from an intracultural perspective. Subjects and Method: Qualitative study based on Grounded Theory, which generates an understanding of the study issue from the perceptions of the research subjects. Ethnographic techniques such as observation and field notes were used, and 20 in-depth interviews and four focus groups were conducted with caregivers (mothers, fathers, and grandparents), intercultural teachers and people with cultural roles (longkos, machis, and intercultural facilitators). 41 Mapuche people from the Ercilla, Curarrehue, Puerto Saavedra, Cholchol and Boroa territories of the Araucanía region, Chile participated. Results: Four dimensions were obtained that characterized the practices and beliefs regarding the acquisition and use of language in Mapuche children: a) Mapuche culture transcends through children and language, b) speech is a concrete and pragmatic process, c) there are traditional techniques for speech stimulation, and d) there are difficulties and easiness for the development of the indigenous language in young children. Conclusions: The preservation and recovery of the indigenous language is a process of reinforcing the cultural identity for the Mapuche people, which has not been valued as a cultural heritage in the national society.