POLÍTICAS LINGUÍSTICAS

ENTRE A COOFICIALIZAÇÃO DAS LÍNGUAS INDÍGENAS E A ASSIMILAÇÃO CULTURAL

Abstract

The present study intends to reflect on the governmental linguistic policies aimed at Brazilian indigenous peoples, pondering the relationship between the absence/presence of co-officialization of their mother tongues and the cultural assimilation of these peoples. Our objective is to problematize the treatment given to indigenous languages ​​from 1500 to the present day, from a historical perspective, considering the colonization process and the numerous attempts to silence the languages ​​of the original peoples. Among our reflections, we highlight the function of the linguistic policy of co-officializing the minority languages ​​conquered in the last two decades in the recognition of the right to difference, diversity and culture. We conclude that the language policies of co-officialization of indigenous languages, when they are no longer just declared by law and are, in fact, carried out, provide opportunities and expand the possibility of indigenous participation in the various spheres of society, especially in those that contemplate the use of their mother tongue. They also demonstrate a State that acts in favor of human rights, collaborate to deconstruct the image of indigenous people as a single and homogeneous people, linked to the past, with the same customs, the same cultures and, mainly, the same language.