Portuguese as a historical invention: brazilianity, africanity and power

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1984-8420.2015v16n2p35 This paper explores the historical and political construction of Portuguese in relation to the concepts of Brazilianness and Africanism. Two different historical periods are considered: (i) 1920-1945, comprising the modernists’ and other intellectuals’ works as well as Vargas’s policies; and (ii) the post-2000 contemporary period, involving na­tional policies in defense of language diversity. We discuss the concepts of regionalism, miscegenation, nationalism and Brazilianness in the light of specific regimes of dis­courses that consider influences of African languages in the Portuguese language spo­ken in Brazil. The text presents an approach of critical language policy that problematizes the historical meanings of languages, highlighting the relation between power and lan­guage.

Keywords

• português
• africanidade
• nacionalismo
• regionalismo
• afro-brasilidade