Mayan Language Revival and Revitalization Politics: Linguists and Linguistic Ideologies

Although spoken by a relatively large population, Mayan languages show signs of language shift and loss because the children in some of the speech communities are no longer learning the language. At the same time, Mayas are participating in a movement of cultural reaffirmation, a principle focus of which is language. Maya linguists are central in formulating and reshaping language ideologies to further the goals of revitalization, and they play a significant role in cultural/linguistic activism. This article shows the extent of the contribution of linguistics to Mayan language vitality through an analysis of language ideologies and how they have been reformulated by Maya linguists, and by a review of an apparently successful attempt at reversing language loss that has arisen through an integrated community-based program of cultural revitalization that centers, to a large extent, on language and makes specific use of linguistics. [Keywords: language shift, language ideologies, language revitalization, Mayan languages, Maya movement]     

The War for the Heart and Soul of a Highland Maya Town

The War for the Heart and Soul of. Highland Maya Town. Robert S. Carlsen. Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1997. 206 pp.     

Coxsackieviruses and diabetes

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is an autoimmune disease whose etiology is complex. Both genetic susceptibility, which is polygenic, and environmental factors, including virus infections, appear to be involved in the development of IDDM. In this review, we have tried to balance the discussion of diabetes by examining both immunological and virological perspectives. Several mouse models, including viral and non-viral models, have been used to study diabetes. For this review, we include lessons gleaned from the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse and from mouse models of coxsackievirus- and encephalomyocarditis-virus-induced diabetes. Finally, we present a multi-stage model in which several viral infections, including the coxsackieviruses, are postulated to play a role in the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells.