A critical look at the sociometry of Portuguese

Abstract

Sociometry, the study of rankings and hierarchies between languages, is discussed critically in this paper from two problems involving the Portuguese language. The first refers to the defense of lusophony in face of other languages, in an attempt to maintain a linguistic unity among Portuguese-speaking countries. The second refers to the existing asymmetry of the the Portuguese language variations, which are sometimes intentionally ignored. Since it is a polemic issue, the sociometric surveys show wide divergence as well as criteria for measuring how much the authors’ intentions that motivate and direct these studies. Thus, they feed a competition that has no linguistic basis; however, it suits the political, social, ideological and economic States - while erasing the affirmation of diversity and heterogeneity. The fragile idea of lusophony appears in this troubled context.

Keywords

• língua portuguesa
• variedade linguística
• lusofonia
• sociometria