TALK: THE CHALLENGES OF STUDYING ANCIENT ZAPOTEC
Presented by Bob Klotz

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 5 PM

MX$90 (M) MX$130 (NM)

Gueche Luana: The challenges, procedures and goals of studying original historical documents from Etla written in 16th and 17th Century Zapotec. Based on his work with the Colonial Zapotec translation workshop at the Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova (Fundación Harp Helú de Oaxaca)...

Bob Klotz will present:
A discussion of modern Zapotec and its relationship to Colonial Zapotec, including the linguistic and socio-political issues surrounding the use and preservation of indigenous languages in Oaxaca
An overview of the Gueche Luana project
The goals of the project, with respect to promoting pride in indigenous languages and cultures in Oaxaca
An overview of the Colonial Zapotec language (Ticha), and the available resources for its translation written by Fr. Juan de Córdova the 16th Century
The challenges of translating Colonial Zapotec
Using a single document as an example, a step-by-step presentation of the process of translation, including:
Paleography and transcription
Re-segmentation of the language in the documents into words and sentences
The linguistic, cultural and historical analysis of words and phrases
Making technically correct and culturally appropriate translations in modern Spanish
Bob Klotz Bio:
Although trained in linguistics at Yale and Cornell Universities many decades (and professional lives) ago, Bob Klotz has been working in Mexico for the past 12 years, as a fundraiser in Mexico City; a researcher and consultant on data collection and program evaluation for wildlife protection, solid waste management and sustainable tourism in Akumal; and for the last four-plus years, as an English teacher in Oaxaca. Since early 2014, Bob has been working, in collaboration with women from San Vicente Coatlán, on a book with the working title Ve t?-nza’a ndo ve xna’a ve?sa: dh?xh-nde’e n? l?d-jye’e n? t?-ndaw t?n ve m?n t?n L?tjyexh, Uza (Gifts from our mothers: the Zapotec language, embroidery and cooking of San Vicente Coatlán, Ejutla).

In addition to his research on this variant of Zapotec, Bob has briefly studied the Zapotec of Teotitlán del Valle and San Pablo Güilá, and is a member of the Gueche Luana translation workshop at the Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova (Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú de Oaxaca), collaborating in the translation of Colonial Zapotec manuscripts from Etla, written in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Get Tickets