Linguicide and Identity: A Multi-Generational Study in Pijao Identity

Linguicide is a government act that illegalizes the use of a language. The motive for this is the elimination of a particular social group or groups via the extinction of its language. In Colombia indigenous languages were illegalized in all but the most remote regions until 1991. While all indigenous languages were seriously affected, the Pijao language was few that disappeared completely. In the generations that followed, the Pijao suffered an immediate change to their social identity as indigenous people. This study analysed the nature of indigenous identity and how the loss of language affects indigenous social identity.