Joseph of Anchieta, the first grammarian of Old Tupi, by Benedito Calixto

During the 16th-century colonization of Brazil, Old Tupi was the predominant language in the coastal regions of the country. Despite some dialectical variations, it became imperative for the fewer colonizers to learn it for territorial conquest. The earliest records of the language date back to the 1510s, but a substantial record was only produced in the 1540s. Jesuits played a crucial role in formalizing its grammar, with Joseph of Anchieta composing a grammar for it in 1555. Through miscegenation, Old Tupi permeated Brazilian society to the extent that even the children of Portuguese spoke it natively. Over time, it gave rise to lingua francas and contributed various words and a distinctive literature to Brazilian Portuguese and its society.

Beginning of colonization

In the 16th century, although hundreds of indigenous languages were spoken in the territory that would later become Brazil, in its coastal region and nearby areas practically the same indigenous language was spoken. This was observed early in colonization, despite the existence of some dialectal variations. According to Pero de Magalhães Gândavo, "The language used along the entire coast is one, although in certain words it may differ in some parts, but not in a way that they cannot understand each other." The Portuguese referred to this language as the "Brasílica language"; nowadays, it is known as Old Tupi.[note 1][2]

First folio of the oldest substantial record of Old Tupi

Accounts of the discovery of Brazil, from the voyage of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500, do not include records of Old Tupi.[3][4] Some terms of Tupi origin can be found in early Portuguese navigation documents,[3] such as those of the ship Bretoa in 1511, which mention various çagoys or çagoyns (Callitrichidae).[5] The first attempt to compile a list of terms from this language occurred during the circumnavigation voyage of Ferdinand Magellan in 1519;[3][6] collected in Guanabara Bay by Antonio Pigafetta, the five or six recorded words refer to items that Tupinambás traded with Europeans.[7] The oldest substantial record of Old Tupi was produced in the 1540s by a Frenchman named Jehan Lamy.[8] It was also collected in Guanabara Bay[9] and contains 88 entries,[9] although some are repeated.[10] It was the language that colonizers learned and spoke for a long time, in order to be able to colonize the territory, as their population was much smaller than the indigenous one.[11] The existence of a main language spoken along the coast made it worthwhile to master it.[12] Eduardo de Almeida Navarro argues Old Tupi can, therefore, be considered a classical indigenous language.[2]

Influence in colonial Brazil

In English colonies, settler colonialism was practiced, with entire families migrating, maintaining social and ethnic segregation from the indigenous inhabitants of such locations. In Brazil, however, what occurred was exploitation colonialism. Entire families did not come, but rather men of low social status, exiles, and adventurers, who had to learn the language of the indigenous people in order to be able to deal with them. These men also formed mixed-race families.[13] In 1546, John III sent to Brazil six Jesuits, including João de Azpilcueta Navarro, the first to learn Old Tupi, alongside the first governor-general of the country, Tomé de Sousa. With the second governor-general, Duarte da Costa, came Joseph of Anchieta, responsible for writing the first grammar of the language in 1555, which would only be published 40 years later.[note 2] To convert the indigenous people, settlements were established, grouping together natives of different nations, protecting them from slavery. To catechize them, a parallel mythology was created, seeking analogies between Portuguese and Old Tupi.[15]

Lingua francas

Broadly speaking, Old Tupi was spoken until the end of the 17th century, when it lost ground to lingua francas that emerged and were widely spoken in colonial Brazil, on its streets and in homes, even those of the nobility. According to Antônio Vieira, the children of the Portuguese learned the Portuguese language only at school. At least three lingua francas existed, with two being the most prominent, namely, the Southern General Language, which disappeared in the early 20th century, and the Amazonian General Language, which gave rise to Nheengatu.[16][17][note 3]

Legacy

Old Tupi is the only indigenous language with a significant presence in the lexicon of the Portuguese spoken in Brazil, as well as in its toponymy and anthroponymy. It also left a legacy in Brazilian literature, such as the lyrical and theatrical poetry of Joseph of Anchieta and the letters of the Camarão Indians.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ It is not known by what name native speakers called it.[1]
  2. ↑ Luís Figueira also published a grammar circa 1628.[14][11]
  3. ↑ A third was the General Language of Bahia.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Navarro 2005, p. 11.
  2. 1 2 Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, pp. 25–26.
  3. 1 2 3 Dalby & Hair 1966, p. 44.
  4. ↑ Rodrigues 2000, p. 542.
  5. ↑ Garcia 1942, p. 166.
  6. ↑ Rodrigues 2000, p. 545.
  7. ↑ Rodrigues 2000, pp. 545–546.
  8. ↑ Dalby & Hair 1966, p. 42.
  9. 1 2 Rodrigues 2000, p. 546.
  10. ↑ Dalby & Hair 1966, pp. 57–58.
  11. 1 2 3 Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, p. 26.
  12. ↑ Dalby & Hair 1966, p. 65.
  13. ↑ Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, p. 27.
  14. ↑ Magalhães 2011, pp. 380–385.
  15. ↑ Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, pp. 27–28.
  16. ↑ Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, pp. 28–29.
  17. ↑ Navarro 2013, p. 537.
  18. ↑ Navarro & Tessuto Júnior 2016, p. 29.

Bibliography

  • Dalby, David; Hair, P. E. H. (November 1966). "'Le langaige du Bresil': a Tupi vocabulary of the 1540s". Transactions of the Philological Society. 65 (1). doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1966.tb00329.x.
  • Garcia, Rodolfo (1942). "Exotismos franceses originários da língua Tupi" [French exoticisms originating from the Tupi language]. Anais da Biblioteca Nacional do Rio de Janeiro (in Portuguese). 64. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023.
  • Magalhães, Pablo Antonio Iglesias (2011). "A palavra e o império: a Arte da lingua brasilica e a conquista do Maranhão" [The word and the empire: the Art of the Brasilica Language and the conquest of Maranhão]. Revista de História (in Portuguese) (165). doi:10.11606/issn.2316-9141.v0i165p367-401. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023.
  • Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (2013). Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil (in Portuguese) (1st ed.). São Paulo: Global. ISBN 978-85-260-1933-1.
  • Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida (2005). Método moderno de tupi antigo: a língua do Brasil dos primeiros séculos (in Portuguese) (3rd ed.). São Paulo: Global. ISBN 978-85-260-1058-1.
  • Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida; Tessuto Júnior, Edgard (May 2016). "Breve história da língua tupi" [Brief history of the Tupi language]. Revista Metalinguagens (in Portuguese). 3 (1). ISSN 2358-2790. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024.
  • Rodrigues, Aryon Dall'Igna (September 2000). "Breve história da língua dos índios vistos por Cabral" [Brief history of the language of the Indians seen by Cabral] (PDF). Universa (in Portuguese). Brasília. 8 (3). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2024.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.