Many Latin American countries have faced dictatorships in the second half of the twentieth century. In Chile, the human rights violations that were committed during the dictatorship under General...Show moreMany Latin American countries have faced dictatorships in the second half of the twentieth century. In Chile, the human rights violations that were committed during the dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet still profoundly impact modern society. The question of how to address these violations has created a situation in which transitional justice gained relevance since the end of the dictatorship. However, traditional conceptualisations of transitional justice have overly focused on judicial dimensions and thereby disregarded other dimensions that are equally as relevant in the transition to a stable democracy. These dimensions include conceptualisations of cultural and linguistic rights that were popularised in the last two decades. This thesis explores the opportunities that an inclusion of effective language policies grounded in the idea of language rights provides to advance transitional justice. This link is investigated through the case of Mapudungun. The findings from this research suggest that the successful implementation of language policies addresses different dimensions of transitional justice and should therefore be included in transitional justice policies, thus aiding the process. The findings from the Chilean case can be beneficial in other transitional contexts in which the inclusion of cultural and linguistic dimensions could contribute to advance transitional justice.Show less
The Mapuche are the largest indigenous community in Chile and they speak their own language, Mapudungun. Unfortunately, over the course of history, the Mapuche have experienced many hardships,...Show moreThe Mapuche are the largest indigenous community in Chile and they speak their own language, Mapudungun. Unfortunately, over the course of history, the Mapuche have experienced many hardships, especially in relation to the Chilean state. One of these hardships is the gradual loss of their language in favour of Spanish. This development can be seen through the fact that younger generations stop to speak the language and that Spanish is taking over the traditional use of Mapudungun in family affairs and ceremonial situations. Therefore, and in order to compensate for the historical debt that the Chilean state has with the Mapuche, the government implemented a Bilingual Intercultural Education Programme in 1996. Additionally, this is a good example of a method of revitalisation, which could help reverse the existing language shift. However, the programme in its current state has a lot of deficiencies, making it unsuccessful in achieving its objective. Consequently, this thesis will argue for the improvement of the programme, in order to increase its contribution in revitalising Mapudungun and to prevent the possible extinction of the language. The previous is important in the scope of the demands for rights of self-determination for which the Mapuche have struggled throughout history.Show less
