(Portuguese) Language and identity: aspects of Maranhão speech

Abstract

The present work deals with contents related to the lexicon of Brazilian Portuguese, especially in the state of Maranhão. Discussions will be carried out on the dialect composition of Maranhão, highlighting the influences of different people (indigenous and non-indigenous) that helped create its linguistic identity. The study was theoretically guided by researches developed by professors from ALiMA (Linguistic Atlas of Maranhão) and by authors such as Antunes (2009) and Ilari e Basso (2007), which produced and published surveys focused on the linguistic identity of people in general and variations of Brazilian Portuguese. This paper attempts to demonstrate that (spoken and written) Portuguese language varies not only in Maranhão, but also in the whole country, therefore demonstrating the lack of homogeneity in the language inside the same territory. Furthermore, the study emphasizes different levels of language variation with greater attention to phonetic-phonological and semantic variations of many words used in São Luís, the state capital, in relation to some other cities in the countryside of the state. Linguistic terms commonly found in the dialect of Maranhão will be presented through the use of a small popular dictionary that describes their meanings.