“Al fin que ya los cueros no van a correr”: Pragmatics of power in Hñahñu (Otomi) markets

Abstract

This article analyzes the specific pragmatics of an extremely asymmetrical example of market interaction between Spanish-speaking middlemen Mestizos and Hñahñu (Otomi) occasional sellers in the market of Ixmiquilpan, in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, where Hñahñu is still spoken. The fine indications of interpersonal cross-cultural conflict found in the transcript (e.g., duration of turns, varied use of indexical terms by buyers to address sellers, and the timing of verbal performance) allow us to understand how interethnic, gender, and power differences operate in this specific setting, relating the global and local levels. Detailed analysis of one case demonstrates the validity of certain universal theories regarding the use of language and enables us to understand the unavoidable conditions of conversation in terms of their universal status vis-à-vis the use of language as the material expression of power, or symbolic violence