UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL FLUMINENSE

CAMPUS GRAGOATÁ - INSTITUTO DE LETRAS

ENGLISH VI
ISADORA PESSOA FERNANDES

How can learning about sociolinguistic variation contribute to increased respect for diversity
and to intercultural understanding and communication that promotes social inclusion?

Language is Power

English is said to be a neutral language, with its prevalent non-marking of gender, when
contrasted to Portuguese, for instance. Grada Kilomba1 called upon this difference when
explaining why the choice for writing in English rather than in Portuguese - her mother tongue.
According to her, coining new vocabulary that can be decolonial and antiracist is more possible
due to English’s neutral gender. Acknowledging differences and searching for a way to respect
diversity is one of the reasons why the role language and its different usages in our society
should be thought over.
Many authors, from linguists to philosophers, have thought about the connection
between language and power. Fiorin drew attention to the ideology prevalent in every choice
of vocabulary, intonation and other features we make. There cannot be language without
intentions: therefore, we cannot say our choices regarding language usage have no intention,
once language is always present in a context.
Michael Foucault, in The Order of the Discourse, states that there are three systems to
determine whether a discourse is valid or not: interdiction (which considers what can be talked
about, in which circumstances and who can talk about something), separation/rejection (not
thinking alike the discourses of power) and the historical system.
Parting from the historical system and bearing in mind language and society are tightly
connect, for if one does not exist, the other will be affected, it is important to be reminded the
historical repertoire of a specific people. Concerning Brazil, our colonial history and European
deep founded roots are aspects that affect society until nowadays.

1
Oral communication in Museu de Arte do Rio, during the FLIP/FLUPP party, in August 2019.
 Social distinction - related to race, origin or class - is marked on our speeches. The years
of colonial history have not only made sure afro-brazilians and native brazilians had their
knowledge denied and classified as legends or myths, but also kept them away from the
knowledge considered valid: formal schooling. This double movement led to usages of
language that differ from the formal usages that are considered proper and valid: the norma
culta.
Deviation from what is considered standard language is commonly viewed as
something to be corrected. A variety of symbolic violence, such as jobs that require specific
accents (accent reduction as something to be achieved in order to communicate better, as if
communication could not be established if not in the basis of native-speakerism); rejection of
certain contractions and consonant reductions (as for the usage of “ain’t” and other reductions
more typical of African American Vernacular English); and imperative sentences such as
“speak proper [sic] English” are frequent to those whose varieties are not valued within some
contexts. In Brazilian context, nonetheless, these violences also apply to an attempt of miming
accents from the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. Overall, minorities such as People of
Color, people from lower classes and people from the interior regions often suffer prejudice
related to their language varieties.
However, variety can also be considered a way of resisting to symbolic violence.
Sharing the same accent and semiotic repertoire actually help endorsing identity values and
sense of community. Within Latinx communities in the US, it is common for people to
communicate through language that mixes both formal/standardized English aspects and
vocabulary from Spanish. This hybridism speaks to a sense of nationalism and respect to
culture, once the incorporation creates a new link among languages that reflects part of the
identity of Latinx Americans.
LGBTQIA communities, both in the US and in Brazil, are proud to have a distinct set
of vocabulary (here known as pajubá). This particular vocabulary can be very opaque to those
who are not part of the community and help build a strong sense of identity, belonging a and
self-expression among those who share it. Nevertheless, in a contrary and slow movement,
some pieces of vocabulary are added to the English shared by most people: it is the case of the
word “shade” which refers to talking to or about someone in a sarcastic way. Other features,
such as the nazalization of the word honey (rewritten as henny) are also commonly spread.
It is also plausible to note that most of the speakers previously cited (Latinx, African
Americans and LGBTQIA Americans, as well as Afro-Brazilians, LGBTQIA Brazilians and
citizens who live in favela) can use partly or entirely the formal code of their languages (English
or Portuguese). This generates a switch between codes, in which speakers change their codes
when within their own communities or formal settings (such as jobs and academia). Famous
writers also incorporate this feature in their literary works. For instance, Geovani Martins,
Brazilian author of O Sol na Cabeça is known for having built a short storty called Rolezin -
which is a slang commonly used among teenagers from lower classes that stands for going out
with your friends - all written in slangs that are difficult to understand for those who do not
share that specific code.
Recognizing different codes, valuing and acknowledging sociolinguistic variation helps
us building not only a stronger sense of community, but it also broadens our perspective as
educators. If we do believe education should transform rather than just conform, then we ought
to be able to identify, study and recognize variation as valid, and celebrate it.