A origem do português brasileiro: o caminho percorrido

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand, by means of an examination of some points of the socio-history of Brazil, differentiated viewpoints as to the origin of the Brazilian variety of Portuguese. To that end, the study considers the interpretations constructed by theorists from the scarce data on the process of colonization of Brazil, the catechization of Indians, demography, the Brazilian língua geral, miscegenation and the consolidation of Portuguese in Brazil in the first three centuries of the history of the country; it discusses the evolution of successive positions adopted by scholars over the period of formation and consolidation of Brazilian Portuguese, particularly regarding their receptivity to the African contribution; it reviews the motivation for the debate on the issue of the Brazilian language and for the election of the Indian, in detriment of the negro, as literary hero. The research gives relevance to the understanding of the concept of simplified discourse, particularly pidgins and creoles, due to the prominence of these concepts in the major hypotheses explaining the origin of Brazilian Portuguese, creolization and drift. Opposing the reading of well-known authors in the area, we emphasize the importance of socio-historical processes in the formation of the Brazilian variety of Portuguese