Abstract
Tariana is spoken by about 100 people in the
multilingual area of the Vaupés basin in northwest Amazonia
(Brazil). Other languages spoken in the area are members of
the East Tucanoan subgroup, with its most numerous representative,
the Tucano language, rapidly gaining ground as a lingua franca.
Also spoken are Makú languages; Baniwa, an Arawak language
spoken on the fringes of the area and closely related to Tariana;
and Portuguese, the national language. The area is known for
its language group exogamy and institutionalized multilingualism,
with its language being the badge of identity for each group.
Language choice is motivated by power relationship and by status,
and there are strict rules for code-switching. Inserting bits
of other languages while speaking Tariana
(“code-mixing”) has different consequences that
mirror existing ethnic stereotypes. Code-mixing with Tucano
is considered a “language violation”; using elements
of Baniwa is considered funny, while mixing different Tariana
dialects implies that one “cannot speak Tariana
properly.” Overusing Portuguese is associated with the
negative image of an Indian who tries to be better than his
peers.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Linguistics and Language,Sociology and Political Science,Language and Linguistics
Cited by
39 articles.
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