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Language is Breath: “Aunque aprendas poco se te abre el coco”

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The quotation in Spanish was the motto of our Cátedra de lenguas nativas ‘La lengua es espíritu’ (Leticia, 2018), a practical attempt to research into the “natures of language” by focusing not on language as a codified system of references (that needs to be “learnt”) but on language as activity (Breath) that involves sociocultural encounters, painting, singing, dancing, food sharing (food “speaks”), healing and, indeed, articulate speech (in several languages). By posing language as a dynamic, acting force (energeia, sensu W. von Humboldt) instead of a static artifact (ergon), this paper seeks to address not only theoretical issues about the nature of language, but also quite practical matters relating to current (indigenous)
concerns about language endangerment, revitalization, documentation, etc., which squarely fit into a naturalistic view of language. What is language –
and how is it to be taught, documented?: ‘Though you learn little, this [Energeia] opens up your nut’.