Linguistic imperialism is a concept used by scholar Robert Phillipson, he mostly spoke about the imperialism of the English language, although this concept can be applied to all the world’s major international languages with imperialistic origins, when the original population had to adopt the invader’s language because of the benefits that accrue to the speakers of the languages when the dominant language has been imposed (Phillipson 31). Linguistic imperialism in Latin America started with the ‘discovery’ and the occupation of the New World by the European powers. Spanish and Portuguese language were imposed on the local populations and therefore many indigenous languages vanished. This essay will especially focus on Brazil and the linguistic imperialism of Portuguese in that country. Although many former European colonies, including Portugal, have gained political independence, there is still a kind of cultural colonisation present. Specifically linguistic practise are strongly associated with the colonial rule (Migge 1). Portuguese became only the official language during the 18th century, when a new wave of Portuguese immigrants came to Brazil due to the discoveries of gold and diamond (Rajagopalan 81). Since 1988 the rights of the indigenous people in Brazil were recognized and until that moment there was a forced deprivation of their identity and language. Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language in Brazil (CIA World Factbook). The Brazilians defined their language as ‘Brazilian Portuguese’ in order to distinguish it from the original language of the Portuguese conquerors. This essay will mainly focus of the language uses, values and functions of Portuguese in Brazil.
Portugal is the largest country on t...
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...ence (Migge 14). Brazilians Portuguese is widely used by the Brazilian population, to them this language is very valuable and possesses an important function in the construction and maintenance of Brazilian identity.
Works Cited
CIA World Factbook. South America, Brazil, Society and People. 26/11/2013. Web
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Berdichevsky, Norman. “Spain’s Language Diversity.” Contemporary Review. 278: May 2001. 276 –82. Web. 15 April 2015.
The purpose of this paper is to recognize, study and analyze the race relations in Brazil. Race relations are relations between two groups of different races; it is how these two different races connect to each other in their environment. Since Brazil is racially diverse, this study is focused on how Brazilians relate to each other. Throughout the essay, it will become clear that there exists a conflict between two race groups. Afro-Brazilians and White-Brazilians are not connected and though these two groups converse with each other, discrimination still lies within the society. This discrimination has created inequality within the society for Afro-Brazilians. Thus, this paper will not only focus on racism and discrimination that Afro-Brazilians experience because of White-Brazilian, but also on the history of Brazil, the types if discrimination that Afro-Brazilian must endure today and how the media creates discrimination.
Until the early 1800’s, Spain created an empire that lasted around three hundred years and was considered “the most powerful country in Europe” (Mini Q). During the late 18th century, the Spanish colonies had an uncompromising social structure to which people were placed in different classes based on their heritage. The Creoles, people born in the colonies but of pure Spanish blood, lead the fight in the struggle for independence because of the economic and social conditions as well as the attempt to gain political power.
Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue." 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. 4th Edition. Ed. Samuel Cohen. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 417-23. Print.
...e, Geneviève, and Armin Schwegler. Creoles, Contact, and Language Change: Linguistics and Social Implications. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub., 2004. Print.
The entire population speaks Portuguese, while it is the only language used in schools. A moderate part of the Brazilians can speak English (mostly higher educated or people in high job positions) or any other second or third language. Some Brazilians may actually take offence when talking to them in Spanish since they do not consider themselves Hispanics. If foreigners try to learn Portuguese, it is often considered as a sign of sincere interest in the country's culture and therefore highly appreciated.
The impact that the geography, history and economic situation in the country has had on the sociolinguistics of the country is of great importance, and as such it is unavoidable to include the history of Haiti, Haitian people, as well as Haitian Creole in this essay. Here it will be attempted to describe the implications that the history, political turmoil and economical situation have had on the use and status of Haitian Creole today.
Mujica, Mauro E. “Why the U.S Needs an Official Language.” Worldandi.com. 2003. Web. 31 July 2011. .
Tan, Amy. "Mother Tongue." Across Cultures. Eds. Sheena Gillespie and Robert Singleton. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. 26-31.
“A formal public commitment to legal racial equality, for example, had been the price of mass support for Latin American’s independence movements. In the generation following independence, the various mixed-race classifications typical of the caste system were optimistically banished from census forms and parish record keeping.” This was meant to make all slaves citizens, equal to all other citizens. Slavery receded in Latin America, except in non-republican Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. However, Brazil’s pursuit of independence was the least violent and provoked the least amount of change. The case of Brazil suggests that retention of colonial institutions such as monarchies lent to stability. “Brazil had retained a European dynasty; a nobility of dukes, counts, and barons sporting coats of arms; a tight relationship between church and state; and a full commitment to the institution of chattel slavery, in which some people worked others to death.”
Pinheiro P. S., 2002, The Paradox of Democracy in Brazil vol. III, issue 1, University of Sao Paulo
—. Language: Readings in Language and Culture. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.
To commence this discussion, it is first essential to establish an understanding surrounding the role of language in relation to national identity. Theoretically, the more power language has in this relation, the more powerful language planning may be when creating a national identity. However, the role language plays in this respect is somewhat problematic to define and has proven to be a debatable topic among nationalists, sociologists and sociolinguists. For instance, May demonstrates that ‘sociological commentators, unlike sociolinguists, have generally been loath to apportion a prominent role to language in the explanation of minority ethnic and national identity claims’ (2001: 8). Consequently emulating distaste from sociologists to credit language with significant power in a national identity. In a similar sense, de Vries notes that, in relation to a language community, ‘social scientists have generally ignored the systemic properties of language’ (1991: 39), thus, concurrently suggesting with May, a disagreement from the social sciences over the role of language in terms of identity and national identity. Similarly, circa the French revolution, the concept
At the beginning of the nineteenth century when Brazil gained its independence from Portugal, citizens began to focus more on strengthening public education. Brazil had recently become
Hepworth, M. D. (2012), Tutorial Notes, '69214339 TMA01', Unpublished Work. Leith, D. and Seargeant, P. (2012), 'A Colonial Language', in Seargeant, P. and Swann, J. ed. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a. a History, Diversity, Change (U214, English in the World), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 113-117. 101.