How can an endangered language be preserved? For Eric Silberberg and Juan Xítjōahnko Cruz it is by writing a children’s book in the language, and this is how the “Sinchekaani ti itan Ngiva ndesi ti nchesen” Preservation of Ngiva Through Pottery project was born.

Silberberg, an assistant professor and librarian at Queens College (CUNY), and Juan Xítjōahnko Cruz, a teacher, translator and interpreter of Ngiva, received funding from the Endengered Language Fund and the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at The Ohio State University to support this project. The connection between the project leaders and CLAS was facilitated via the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM), a leading professional association for academic librarians, archivists, book vendors, scholars, and students in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Its listserv—LALA-L (Latin Americanist Librarians' Announcements List)—is widely used by Latin American and Caribbean Studies librarians and their users to seek guidance, share questions, and troubleshoot research roadblocks. It was on this listserv that Eric first posted his question about seeking funding support for the project. After seeing his message come through, Ohio State Area Studies librarian Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros, reached out and referred Silberberg with Assistant Director Leila Vieira, recognizing its potential alignment with CLAS’s Title VI core goals. This is a good example of the behind-the-scenes work area studies librarians do to help scholars secure the resources—including funding—that make their work possible. 

“Many Indigenous (and other minority) languages around the world are increasingly under threat from factors like globalization, urbanization, political instability, and climate change,” said Jessica Kantarovich, an assistant professor in the Department of Linguistics.

“If these languages vanish without a trace, their communities lose a vital link to their history and culture, and humanity loses access to the rich knowledge contained within diverse languages and dialects. Initiatives to document linguistic knowledge and to create resources for minority communities to maintain their heritage languages, such as those funded by the Center for Latin American Studies, are instrumental in resisting language loss,” Kantarovich explained.

Ngiva, often referred to by the problematic exonym Popoloca, is a language spoken by Indigenous people in southeastern Puebla, Mexico. The Ngiva are known for their artisanal pottery, a tradition that was used as a vehicle for teaching Ngiva language in context. The book includes Ngiva sentences, followed by their Spanish and English translations, and photographs of the pottery-making process.

“The book has been an inspiration for the community's young people in this initial effort to revitalize the Ngiva language.  It has served as a support and reference material, encouraging the population to continue raising awareness about the great value of their language and polished pottery,” said Cruz. Upon learning that the project had been completed and that a simple email had contributed, Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros reflected, "I appreciate being in a role where information can empower and connect good people. This project highlights a collaborative area-studies ecosystem, where centers, professors, librarians, and community partners work together to bring new scholarship to life." 

The book “Nchetjá kuènté chjasin Jnantáyo / The Clay of the Town of Metzontla," will be used in language revitalization classes for elementary school students in Los Reyes Metzontla. Since Los Reyes Metzontla is in a high migrant-sending region in Mexico, with a significant population living in places such as New York City, copies of the book will also be sent to libraries at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the New York Public Library (NYPL).

You can access the book online through the CUNY library. A copy will also be added to the Latin American Area Studies Collection at Ohio State University Libraries and made available statewide through OhioLINK and SearchOhio, so be sure to explore this resource.