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The linguistic situation in 16th-century Brazil was divergent, with a dominant indigenous tongue on the coast and multiple tongues among the tribes of the interior. This article analyses the different stages whereby the dominant indigenous language of the coast became the lingua franca of Brazil: ac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Spanish |
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Casa de Velázquez
2015-05-01
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| Series: | Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/mcv/6147 |
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| Summary: | The linguistic situation in 16th-century Brazil was divergent, with a dominant indigenous tongue on the coast and multiple tongues among the tribes of the interior. This article analyses the different stages whereby the dominant indigenous language of the coast became the lingua franca of Brazil: acquisition by the Portuguese, production of a written form, grammaticalisation and publication. The publication of Anchieta’s Grammar in 1595 can be understood in the context of rivalries between settlers and Jesuits regarding the Indian populations. The high death rate among the coastal tribes prompted a new policy whereby peoples from the interior were encouraged to move to the coastal areas, a process that was instrumental in the dissemination of a lingua franca. The debates about grammar and the capacity of the Indians’ tongue to express Christian faith and law should be seen in the context of the bitter struggle between Jesuit missionaries and settlers for control of the Indian populations. |
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| ISSN: | 0076-230X 2173-1306 |