Schooling and spoken language in rural communities in the Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract

This article analyzes the effects of the Maya and Spanish languages spoken in familiesand rural communities located in the YucatánPeninsula on young people’s formal education.Young Maya speakers have fewer complete years of schooling than non-speakers; yet when they live in predominantly Maya-speaking communities,their educational attainment is higherthan it is in Spanish-speaking communities. Among young female Maya speakers, there is a negative effect associated with the fact that they are Maya speakers. In indigenous communities, schooling is also encouraged among young femaleMaya speakers, yet to a lesser extent than among young males.