Rediscovering “brazilianisms”

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to revisit the category known as “brazilianism”. This category is analyzed from a traditional and historical perspective, which regards “brazilianisms” as particular expressions or words, coined in Brazil, that diverge from Portuguese expressions. This category is also analyzed from a lexicographical perspective, which, based on a traditional view, labels certain lexical items as “brazilianisms”. This paper is based on literature review dating back to the first records of these formations, as well as on the investigation of modern dictionaries. A common core of all definitions of “brazilianisms” discussed throughout this paper is that this category distinguishes Brazilian Portuguese (BP) from European Portuguese (EP), although there is disagreement with respect to the etymological origins of these formations. This paper does not acknowledge this as a problematic fact, and further concludes that the profusion of etymological sources (e.g., Amerindian, African, and Portuguese) is one of the fundamental characteristics of “brazilianisms”. Additionally, this paper revisits Mario de Andrade’s contributions to the topic, based on his particular view of “brazilianisms”, from his project titled Gramatiquinha. The label “brazilianism” is then extended to encompass not only words, but also various constructions and strategies which, nonetheless, would be typical of BP. Finally, the main contribution of this paper lies in the attempt to trace back the history of the concept of “brazilianism”, to rediscover it, and to think about which structures and contemporary trends in BP could be investigated under this category.