The Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (English: National Indigenous Languages Institute) better known by its acronym INALI, is a Mexican federal public agency, created 13 March 2003 by the enactment of the
Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas (General Law of Indigenous Peoples' Linguistic Rights) by the administration of
President Vicente Fox Quesada.
It is a decentralized agency of the
Federal Public Administration, attached to the
Secretariat of Public Education (, or SEP). Its supreme organ is the National Council, of which the
Secretary of Public Education
In Mexico, the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish language, in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with Cabinet (government), cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseein ...
serves as president, with a Director General in charge of its day-to-day activities.
INALI works to promote and protect the use of
Mexico's indigenous languages, which it divides into 68
living
Living or The Living may refer to:
Common meanings
*Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms
** Living species, one that is not extinct
*Personal life, the course of an individual human's life
* ...
"linguistic groups" and
hundreds of "linguistic varieties". While many of the "groups" have traditionally been considered single languages, INALI recommends that the "varieties" be considered as separate languages in all matters of justice, education, health, and civil administration or information. One of INALI's main tasks is to prevent the disappearance and extinction of indigenous languages that have survived from
pre-Hispanic times.
References
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External links
Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenasofficial website
INALI’s Catalogue of Indigenous Languages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Instituto Nacional De Lenguas Indigenas
Government of Mexico
Languages of Mexico
2003 in Mexico
Mesoamerican studies
Bilingual education
Bilingualism