O português brasileiro no contexto internacional: um estudo sociolinguístico, educacional, cultural, econômico e geopolítico

Abstract

ABSTRACT To divulge the Portuguese language and Brazilian cultural identity throughout the world, it is necessary to develop a contextual, perceptive and coherent analysis that allows said expanding culture to analyze itself and prosper with all its peculiarities. Considering the sine qua non condition that communication is the result of language, that language is materialized through idioms, which in turn portray the realities of specific identities, it can be affirmed that the Portuguese language plays an important and indispensable role in the global projection of Brazil and of the member countries of CPLP (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, Community of Portuguese Language Countries). Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the language policy and linguistic planning of such community, based on the theoretical assumptions of Calvet (1997). This PhD thesis discusses the issues inherent to the context of linguistic expansion of Portuguese internationally, especially its Brazilian variety. From a sociolinguistic, educational, cultural, economic and geopolitical approach, this study assesses the participation of Brazil in the CPLP and in the language diffusion process. Consequently, specific strategies are presented, such as the restructuring of language teaching in Brazil and the joint CPLP policies aiming to project the future of Portuguese in time and on the international scene. The purpose of this study is to provide a critical route that favors the dissemination of the Portuguese language in the world, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages in the attempt to diffuse it from the perspective of a specific country, Brazil, which, as well as the other member countries of the CPLP, is still in a phase of socioeconomic development. Except Portugal that belongs to the European Union and is granted more economic resources to promote its language and culture, moreover its development indexes do not compare to those of the other CPLP members. In conclusion, designing the expansion of the Portuguese language, and of those cultural identities coexisting within this language, is a task that requires a language policy and a set linguistic planning among all member countries of the CPLP, in order for Portuguese to occupy its rightful place in the world and in the global economy. By conducting this study, the author could demonstrate that much is expected from Brazil to promote the Portuguese language. Likewise, the present study confirmed the hypothesis that Brazil has to solve its own domestic policies first, resulting in a delay of linguistic expansion of Portuguese by the CPLP. Moreover, the expectations of the other CPLP member countries do not match with the reality of Brazilian foreign policy, as too dependent on the promise that Brazil is one of the new global economic powers. Hence, the present work is a study that discusses the abovementioned issues in order to contribute to the visibility of Portuguese in the world, and consequently offer a socioeconomic improvement to the speakers of the language. After all, many among the market possibilities are generated by and in Portuguese.