The differential use of Spanish and Portuguese along the Uruguayan–Brazilian border

Abstract

Since the late 1800s, the Uruguayan Government has attempted to enforce cultural and linguistic norms along the border with Brazil through the prohibition of Portuguese, especially in schools, despite the fact that this is the heritage language of most border residents. This research focuses on the differential use of Spanish and Portuguese in Rivera, the largest city on the border. Using self-reported data and metalinguistic commentaries extracted from interviews with 63 SpanishÁ Portuguese bilinguals, the use of both languages in various domains (home, school, work spaces) and with diverse interlocutors (family, friends, co-workers, superiors) is analyzed. Quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals that Portuguese, which has been marginalized for decades, is more frequently used in the home with relatives and close friends. The use of Portuguese in more formal domains, including schools, is much less frequent. The results from this study corroborate a perception within the community that Portuguese lacks the prestige of Spanish and provide further evidence of its status as a primarily home language. The current research does not show a progressive shift toward Spanish in Rivera nor does it support claims by other researchers that this community is diglossic.

Analyzing Thai Border School Policy Formation in the ASEAN Community Era

“…Their study noted that, like many borderlands, the US-Mexican border is characterized by chronically low levels of education and high rates of poverty. In South America, Waltermire's (2012) work regarding the Uruguay-Brazil border noted how the use of Portuguese among the marginalized border population influences the teaching in schools along the border. He noted that Portuguese is more frequently used in the home with relatives and close friends, and in more formal domains, including schools, while the use of Spanish is much more common throughout the rest of the country.…”

Portuguese or Portuñol? Language contact in Misiones, Argentina

“…The singer-song writer Chito de Mello, native of Rivera, Uruguay, has recorded many songs in “Portuñol,” some of which even contain “lessons” in the proper use of this vernacular (). Additional studies of northern Uruguayan Portuguese include Behares (2005), Elizaincín (1973, 1976, 1992), Elizaincín, Behares, and Barrios (1987), Carvalho (2003a, 2003b, 2004a, 2004b, 2006a, 2006b), Douglas (2004), Hensey (1982a, 1982b), Kaufmann (2009), and Waltermire (2006).…”

Nonformal Bilingual Education

“…For example, in many government secondary schools in Zambia where English is the language of instruction, children are beaten or punished for using home languages (whether languages from the Congo spoken by refugees on the border, or one of Zambia's 70 indigenous languages and dialects) (Bajaj, 2009). Waltermire (2012) demonstrates how the Uruguayan prohibition of Portuguese in schools along the Uruguayan-Brazilian border caused the language to become more restricted to the home, where it is used with relatives and close friends.…”