Mayan Language Experts In High Demand: Influx of Mayan Immigrants Coming to the U.S.

Recently, the Caribbean Court of Justice granted constitutional relief to the Mayans in Belize in a historic land rights case. The appeal, brought by 25 appellants who are members of the Maya community of the Toledo district, have been fighting for recognition and protection of Maya land rights before international courts, as well as the courts of Belize in the last 20 years, as reported by Stabroek News.

But while this milestone is good news to the Maya community, there are others who are looking for greener pastures in the United States. Many of them are crossing the border, in fact, as reports from NPR noted that there is an influx of Mayan Immigrants in the country these days, which is why the U.S. is in high need of Mayan language speakers.

Most of the Central Americans speak Spanish as their primary tongue; however, there are more Mayan speakers that are in the U.S. than ever before and right now, there is a shortage of interpreters. People like Sergio Romero, a professor at the University of Texas are getting called to interpret Mayan languages in detention centers and courts.

Romero said that despite the mysterious collapse of the Mayan empire in the 9th century, their descendants still live today. He should know -- he teaches three Mayan languages, although that's not a lot considering that there are about 30 of them.

Mayan immigrants are capable of speaking in a language more U.S. citizens understood -- like Spanish. Romero explained, "A lot of these people will be perfectly capable of purchasing beans or tortillas or beer at a store in Spanish. But then, engaging the police or working with a lawyer or declaring in front of a judge is not something they would be able to do." This remains to be the reason for the necessity of more Mayan-speaking individuals.

If this is the case then why are Mayan speakers in the U.S. not stepping forward? The professor explained that the immigrants are not proud to speak their language. "The stereotypical poor person in Guatemala is a speaker of an indigenous language. The tremendous linguistic diversity of Guatemala is seen as a disadvantage. It's seen as one of the reasons why the country is so poor," he shared.

Discrimination in this sense is illogical. Romero himself pointed out that Honduras and El Salvador, which are Guatemala's neighboring countries, are also poor, and they're not multilingual.

One thing is clear -- language is important, and for Mayans in the US, it may do good to step up and speak in their native tongue, if not for themselves, for others who may also need help in finding greener pastures in the U.S.