IR Home > Publishing > Active Journals > Maya America > Vol. 7 > Iss. 1 (2025)

Ancestral Languages in the Digital Age: My experience at UNESCO presenting a paper entirely in Kaqchikel

Abstract

Baldomero Cuma gave an invited presentation to the International LT4All UNESCO conference in Paris. He gave his presentation entirely in the Kaqchikel language. In this commentary, Baldomero discusses his beliefs about language and why he presented at the conference in his Maya language. To Baldomero, Maya language preservation has profound connections to the integral being of the Maya, and language preservation should be much more than mere academic research and information collection. As he writes, "In our homes, from the womb of our mother and at birth, we hear our identity, starting with the 'ta, ta, ta, ta' or with the 'ma, ma, ma, ma.' These are aspects that for many are insignificant, bu tfo rus, they are the foundation of our millenary heritage."

Publication Date

8-14-2025

Author Bio(s)

Kawoq Baldomero Cuma, Licenciado, is a Kaqchikel language activist, teacher, author, and Maya Spiritual Guide (Ajq'ij). He is the author of three books ("Pensamiento Filosófico y Espiritualidad Maya," "Runataxik, Qak'aslem: Reviviendo Nuestra Cultura," and "Tawetamaj Kaqchikel: Aprenda Kaqchikel, Camino Para Entender la Cosmovisión"). A native Kaqchikel speaker from the town of Santa Maria de Jesús, Kawoq has over two decades of experience as a professional language teacher and has collaborated with language and culture courses hosted by USAC (Guatemala), Tulane University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of New Orleans, and the University of Redlands. Baldomero is on the board of advisors to the Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project, a partner organization of UNESCO's International Decade of Indigenous Languages