O linguistic prejudice is, according to the professor, a linguist and philologist Marcos Bagno, any negative value judgment (of disapproval, repulsion or even disrespect) to linguistic varieties of lesser social prestige. Usually, this prejudice is directed to the more informal variants and linked to the less favored social classes, which, as a rule, have less access to formal education or have access to a quality educational model. deficient.
Read too: What is Linguistics?
Causes of linguistic prejudice
According to Bagno, in the work Linguistic Prejudice: what is it, how is it done (1999), linguistic prejudice derives from the construction of a standard imposed by an economic and intellectual that considers as "error" and, consequently, reprehensible everything that differs from this model. In addition, it is closely linked to other prejudices that are also very present in society, such as:
Socioeconomic prejudice
Among all the causes, it is perhaps the most common and the one with the most serious consequences. This is due to the fact that members of the poorer classes, due to limited access to education and culture, generally only dominate the more informal and less prestigious linguistic varieties.
Thus, they are mainly excluded from the best positions in the professional market, and the so-called cyclicity of poverty is created: the poor father and without access to quality school will hardly offer the child opportunities (due to the lack of condition), and he will probably have the fate of that.
regional prejudice
Along with the socioeconomic, it is one of the main causes of linguistic prejudice. Cases of individuals who occupy the richest regions of the country expressing some kind of aversion to the accent or to the typical regionalisms of poorer areas are common.
cultural prejudice
In Brazil, there is a strong aversion on the part of the intellectual elite to mass culture and the linguistic varieties used by it. This is evident, for example, in music.
For a long time, the countryside it's the rap music were segregated in the cultural scene because they came from less favored classes (often without access to formal education) and that use a very informal language (the speech of the "hillbilly" or a member of a community in a large center, for example).
It is very important to highlight that both are extremely rich musical styles and are a very important part of the cultural identity of millions of people.
Racism
Unfortunately, in Brazil, elements of black culture are still segregated by a portion of the population. This is reflected in the language, for example, in the meaning of words of African origin, such as “macumba”, which, in Brazil, is linked to Satanism or witchcraft, but, in fact, it is a percussion instrument used in religious ceremonies of origin African.
Homophobia
It is common for slang or expressions to be labeled as specific to the LGBT community and, consequently, rejected by those who have an aversion to this social group. Just remember the controversy surrounding an issue of the 2018 Enem test that dealt with the pajuba (dialect created by the LGBT community).
Consequences of linguistic prejudice
The main consequence of linguistic prejudice is the accentuation of other prejudices related to it.
This means that the individual excluded from a job interview, for using an informal variety of language, will not have the financial conditions to break the barrier of illiteracy and will probably remain excluded. The citizen segregated for presenting an accent from a certain region will continue to be seen in a stereotyped way, being a reason for laughter or mockery, and so on.
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Linguistic prejudice in Brazil
In Brazil, linguistic prejudice is very noticeable in two areas: in regional and in the socioeconomic.
In the first case, it is common for agents to be in large population centers, which monopolize culture, media and economy, such as the Southeast and the South. The victims, in turn, are usually in regions considered by the perpetrators as poorer or culturally backward (such as the Northeast, North and Midwest). Labels such as “illiterate northeastern” or “goiano caipira”, unfortunately, are still present in the thoughts and discourse of many Brazilians.
In the second case, linguistic prejudice is directed from the economic elite to the poorer classes. According to Professor Bagno, many use language as a tool of domination, as the ignorance of the standard norm, according to these people, would represent a low level of professional qualification. For this reason, many people remain underemployed and underpaid. In short, linguistic prejudice is one of the pillars for maintaining the class division in Brazil.
End of linguistic prejudice
The participation of school, family and media in propagating the principle of linguistic adequacy it is fundamental to the end of linguistic prejudice.
Linguistic adequacy: principle according to which one no longer speaks of “right” or “wrong” in the evaluation of a given linguistic variety. It is discussed, therefore, whether the variety in question is adequate or not to the communicative situation (context) in which it manifests itself.
This means that, in a formal or solemn context, the use of formal language (standard, cultured) would be adequate and the use of an informal variety (colloquial) inappropriate. Likewise, in informal situations, an informal (colloquial) variant should be used instead of the formal language (standard, cultured).
Example:
⇒ Suitable:
“Hey, man, okay? Animate tomorrow?” (context: a teenager talking to a friend)
“Good morning, Director Pedro! I would like to speak with you about some issues of interest to the institution.” (context: a university student addressing his/her course director)
⇒ Inappropriate:
“Hello, dear confrere! I would like to invite you to a casual activity, like going to the movies.” (context: a teenager talking to a friend)
“Hey dude! Good? I wanted to exchange an idea with you about college.” (context: a university student addressing his/her course director)
Also access: Exercises on linguistic adequacy
Who is Marcos Bagno?
“He is a professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Translation at the University of Brasília, doctor in philology and Portuguese language by University of São Paulo, translator, writer with several awards and more than 30 published titles, including literature and works technical-didactics. He works more specifically in the field of sociolinguistics and children's literature, as well as pedagogical issues about the teaching of Portuguese in Brazil. In 2012 his work Eugenia's memoirs received the Jabuti Prize.” [Source: Marcos Bagno]
Summary
Linguistic prejudice is, according to professor, linguist and philologist Marcos Bagno, every value judgment negative (of disapproval, repulsion or even disrespect) to less prestigious linguistic varieties Social. It is directly linked to other prejudices (regional, cultural, socioeconomic, etc.) and, in Brazil, it mainly affects the poorest regions of the nation and large urban centers. Its purpose presupposes the teaching of linguistic adequacy in schools and respect by the media for the different variants of the language.
by Jairo Beraldo
Portuguese Language Teacher
