Políticas linguísticas e representação de identidades: um estudo etnográfico em uma comunidade plurilíngue/pluricultural no Paraguai.

Abstract

This study was conducted in Paraguayan territory, more precisely in a plurilingual community called Tupilandia located in the municipality of Yuty in Ca'azapá department. Aiming to understand, through ethnographic studies, how they work, both at school and social, language policies of bilingual education in Paraguay against other languages transiting in place as the Spanish language, jopara, Guarani and Portuguese, and how identity representations are built ,language and culture by its speakers. This community is constituted as plurilingual thanks to the presence of several languages that transit in the same context: the official languages of Paraguay, Spanish and Guarani; Portuguese, the language of Brazilian immigrants living in the community; the jopara language, language 'hybrid' resulting from the 'mix' between Spanish and Guarani. The local school appears as a bilingual institution that feactures on its resumé recognize and work with the two official languages of the country and rebuild, so a sense of national identity. However, it does not legitimize other languages that are circulating in that place. In this process, it appears another challenge as, in this school location, the two official languages coexist differently and play different roles according to specific social functions, in other words, the Spanish language, which is considered as the language of social and economic prestige, is not used, in oral form, the majority of the local population, although it is the most used language in writing practice. The Guarani language taught in school is not recognized as the one they use in their daily practices. So call jopara his linguistic repertoire in the local language practices. The theoretical and methodological approach to data generation and analysis is located in the area of Applied Linguistics, anchoring the interpretive qualitative research and Ethnography (Erickson, 1989; Denzin and LINCOLN, 2006; LUDKE and André, 1986; MOITA LOPES 2006). In addition to these approaches, also part of the theoretical and methodological approach to the study of language policies and educational policies, as Calvet contributions (2002/2007); Oliveira (2010, 2009); Rajagopalan (2003; 2004); Maher (2007); Caesar and Cavalcanti (2007); Canagarajah (2013); Garcia (2013); Street (2014), among others. Also discussed were the representation and identity concepts (CANCLINI, 2011; PIRES-SANTOS, 2004; PENNYCOOK, 2006; HALL, 2000/2011). The records were obtained through participant observation, classroom audio recording and interviews with students and parents, Brazilians and Paraguayans. In this research were answered two research questions: a) how the educational language policies are undertaken in the school community Tupilandia, in view of the Guarani languages, Spanish, Portuguese and jopara?; b) how the representations of linguistic identities are constructed in such plurilingual and multicultural scenery? The analysis showed that the language policies and representations are crossed by several social, ideological and political, both locally and translocally. The analysis of the speeches and statements of the interlocutors was possible to notice that students, teachers and the local population, whether Paraguayans, Brazilians or "brasiguaios" tend to negotiate intermeddle and move between the various possibilities of language practices and social practices order to achieve a particular purpose sociocommunicative. However, for the representations assigned to languages by its speakers, it became clear that are built in different ways, at times and in different contexts of their practices, in other words, people give meaning to their languages are governed by separate identity and cultural ideals.