O comportamento lingüistico na comunidade bilíngüe ítalo-brasileira de Nova Pádua/RS : identidade, prestígio e estigma lingüísticos

Abstract

This reasearch was developed in an Italo-Brazilian linguistics community of Nova Pádua, located in the northeast of Rio grande do Sul, which was founded in 1885 by Italian imigrants. This etnolinguisitcs group lives with a situation of bilinguism and languages in contact with each other. The aim of our work was to investigate the linguistics attitudes of the bilingual speakers in relation to the used speaking systems by the ethnic-social: the standard Portuguese language, the Italian dialect (Coiné) and the variety of the local speaking Portuguese language. The investigation began with the presupposition that bilingual speakers have positive or negative attitudes, prestige or stigma, in relation to the linguistics varieties. Besides this, we presupposed that bilingual speakers behaviour is measured by the values given to the languages. The results showed a series of positive and negative values related and perceived in the linguistics varieties. Not just the positive and negative evaluation guides the linguistics behaviour of bilingual speakers, but also extra-linguistics factors as a formal interation situation or the speaker s solidarity. Surprisingly, the research showed a conflict of values and linguistics identity in the sample. This conflict was revealed in the contradiction of the values judgement given to the linguistics varieties in the two evaluation proposals suggested by the research. In the first proposal, where the speaker is a third person, not the one belong to the research, the Italian dialect is the speaking system of the greatest prestige and the standard Portuguese language, the language of minor prestige. The positive attitudes in relation to the Italian dialect direct to an afective link between the Italian ethnic feeling and the sample s linguistic identity. Contradictorily, for an interpersonal situation, in usual dominions as house, school, chapel where the own bilingual should speak, the values differ. It means that the regional and standard Portuguese language speaking systems receive more prestige than the Italian dialect. Among other aspects, these attitudes were justified by the necessity of the Portuguese language dominium, by the speakers solidarity and by the recognition of a linguistics form of a local Portuguese language, Portuguese with Italian marks. By all these, the dates showed that the Italian linguistics identity is more idealized and/or nostalgic than real.On the other side, it seems appearing a latent recognition of a local Italo-Brazilian linguistcs practice.