Becoming Monolingual: The Impact of Language Ideologies on the Loss of Multilingualism on São Tomé Island

Abstract

This article discusses the loss of the creole languages on São Tomé Island and the societal move from multilingualism to monolingualism in Portuguese. It argues that recognizing the ideologies attached to these languages is key in understanding the language shift, but also the processes leading toward monolingualism. This qualitative study is based on three main theories: Language as social practice, language ideology, and monoglot standardization. Data comes from ethnographic fieldwork and sociolinguistic interviews with 56 speakers from the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe. I argue that the existence of multilingualism on São Tomé Island is not valued at a societal level because of the pejorative ideologies that have been held about the creole languages since colonial times. Also, the use of the creole languages stood as a problem for the creation of a unified Santomean nation, as the different racial groups on the islands had their own creole. Results show how ideologies about the Portuguese language and its association with national unity, modernity, and European-ness favored its expansion on São Tomé Island and a move toward monolingualism.

Redefining Forro as a marker of identity: Language contact as a driving force for language maintenance among Santomeans in Portugal

“…In other words, people who only speak some creole or have a low level of proficiency might have answered that they do speak it. That being said, the level of bilingualism among Angolares is considered to be higher (Bouchard 2019b).…”

Ideophones and Realia in a Santome/Portuguese Bilingual Dictionary

“…Although it is the smallest of all Portuguese-speaking countries, this language is currently spoken by the majority of its 200,000 inhabitants. It has been reported that 80% of people under 20 years of age may speak only Portuguese (Bouchard 2019;Araujo 2020, p. 193).…”