On September 27th, Mariana Bono and students in her new course SPA 255 The Making of a Language. Spanish Then and Now visited Special Collections to engage in a critical lexicography exercise that taught them how to approach historic written records and to appreciate how Spanish served both as an instrument for national consolidation in Spain and a tool for imperial expansion in the Americas. The exercise involved examining first editions of bilingual dictionaries and grammars of Castilian and of various indigenous languages of the Americas (including Nahuatl, Huastec, Mapudungun, and Guaraní) dating back to the 16th century, as well as treatises and policy documents that center the role of language in the colonial enterprise.
Earliest among the items reviewed by students was Alonso de Molina’s Aqui Comiença vn Vocabulario en la Lengua Castellana y Mexicana (Mexico City, 1555), the first Spanish-Nahuatl dictionary and work of lexicography to be printed in America. Compiled to assist in the proselytization of indigenous populations, it shows how essential was the learning of indigenous languages during the early stages of the colonization.
In contrast, a treatise published more than two centuries later in Mexico by Archbishop Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana y Butrón, advised King Carlos III against the use of indigenous languages for official and educational purposes in the colonies as it encouraged disloyalty among the indigenous population. This document, Professor Bono explained, is a key source for understanding ecclesiastical regulations aimed at the Castillianization of the peoples of New Spain in the 18th century. As is the royal decree from 1782, El Rey… establicimiento de Escuelas del Idioma Castellano en los Pueblos de Indios…, which sought to establish schools for teaching the Spanish language in indigenous communities in the Americas.
Showcased below and organized in chronological order by year of publication are several of the other fascinating items examined by students during their visit to Special Collections.
Aldrete, Bernardo José. Del origen y principio de la lengva castellana, ò romance que oy se vsa en España. Madrid, por Melchoir Sanchez. A costa de Gabriel de Leon, mercander de libros, 1674. Catalog record.
Arenas, Pedro de. Vocabulario manual de las lenguas castellana, y mexicana : en que se contienen las palabras, preguntas, y respuestas mas communes, y ordinarias que se suelen ofrecer en el trato, y comunicacion entre españoles è indios. México : Impreso con licencia y aprobacion en Mexico en la Impreta de Francisco de Rivera Calderon, 1728. Spanish and Nahuatl. Catalog record.
Ripalda, Geronymo de. Catecismo mexicano qui contiene toda la doctrina christiana con todas sus declaraciones. Mexico. Bibliotheca Mexicana. 1758. Spanish and Nahuatl. Catalog record.
Febrés, Andrés. Arte de la lengua general del reyno de Chile, con un dialogo chileno-hispano muy curioso: a que se añade la Doctrina christiana, esto es, rezo, catecismo, coplas, confesionario, y plàticas; lo mas en lengua chilena y castellana: Y por fin un Vocabulario hispano-chileno, y un Calepino chileno-hispano mas copioso. Lima, En la calle de la Encarnaçion, 1765. Spanish and Mapudungun. Catalog record.
Tapia Zenteno, Carlos D. Noticia de la lengua huasteca, que en beneficio de sus nacionales, de orden del ilmô. sr. arzopispo [!] de esta santa Iglesia metropolitana, y a sus expensas, da Carlos de Tapia Zenteno … Con cathecismo, y doctrina christiana para su instruccion, segun lo que ordena el santo concilio mexicano, enchiridion sacramental para su administracion, con todo lo que parece necessario hablar en ella los neoministros, y copioso diccionario para facilitar su inteligencia. Mexico, En la impr. de la Bibliotheca mexicana, 1767. Spanish and Tének or Huasteco. Catalog record.
Breve Tratado de Doctrina Christiana puesto en lengua mexicana por Fr. N [ ] de la R. Observancia de N.S.P.S. Francisco para mayor entendimiento de aquellos que con Sancto fervor y apostolico amor se dedican a iluminar con los fulgores de la Fe, a los Naturales de este Nuevo Reyno [missing line] convento de S. Bernardina, Taxco, en el año 1774. Manuscript, 1774. Spanish and Nahuatl. Mesoamerican Manuscripts Collection. Catalog record. Digital copy.
Congratulations, Mariana Bono! Muchas Gracias, Fernando Acosta and Latin American Collections!! This is wonderful for anyone interested in learning more about the history and present of the Spanish language, and in contextualizing Empire and deepening our understanding of indigenous resistance. Important as well for the history of the political and religious role of printed materials and books during the early colonial period.