Chapter 3. Interpreters of Mapudungun and the Chilean State during the 1880–1930 period

Abstract

During the second half of the 19th century, the Chilean military crushed the Mapuche resistance and opened their territories for the occupation of Chilean and European settlers and the founding of cities. This process implied profound changes in the indigenous society, now forced to interact in Spanish with the administration. Bilingual Mapuche or of mixed origin were key in this process, acting as interpreters. Within this context of colonial domination and resistance and adaptation, we focus our attention on some families of interpreters and interpretation practices that can provide clues to understand the social, political, and linguistic dynamics while serving as indicators of the power relationships between languages and the groups that spoke them.