{Ryan Shosted, Associate Professor of Linguistics, was recently interviewed for an article about immigrants to the US who speak indigenous languages. As part of his commitment to public engagement, Professor Shosted has since 2008 collaborated with the local Q'anjob'al (Maya) community of Champaign-Urbana to publish Maya literacy materials and help educate the non-Maya community about the Q'anjob'al language. The following is his portion of the story, which was published in The Guardian on June 18, 2019. To read the full feature article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/18/migrants-indigenous-languages-us-schools }

The twin cities of Champaign and Urbana in Illinois are home to an estimated 550 native speakers of Q’anjob’al, an indigenous language from Guatemala. Ryan Shosted, a linguistics professor at the University of Illinois, learned about the language after a member of the Q’anjob’al community approached him asking for help in a literacy project. Soon after he got involved, teachers in the community began to ask him for help in the classroom.

Since then, Shosted has been involved with creating alphabet books and short stories in Q’anjob’al and simple dictionaries. The awareness of the language has transformed the school environment for these students.

“The work has really been about promoting literacy in Q’anjob’al and promoting pride in the printed medium of their language,” Shosted said. “Because it is a big step to recognize, like if you tell somebody your language can’t be written or just doesn’t deserve to be written, that takes a toll.”