LINGUISTICS y

Toward the survival of indigenous languages

With the help of he approximately 170 indigenous languages spoken in are an technology, researchers important subject of research in work to prevent the T the linguistic field today. It’s a fight against time. Faced with estimates that these disappearance of native languages could disappear within 50 to 100 years, linguists are dedicated not only to re- languages in Brazil cording them but also to working toward their survival. From textbooks to dictionaries, from sites in indigenous languages to digital lin- guistic corpora, a generation of researchers gani who began their studies with these commu- r Ver r u Luisa Destri nities in the 1990s are offering contributions t h

Ar that simultaneously deal with the subject’s Published in November 2018 scientific demands and meet social aims. “We’ve lost a lot of diversity and we’re go-

ILLUSTRATION ILLUSTRATION ing to lose even more,” says Luciana Storto, a

pESQUISA FAPESP z 75 professor in the Department of Linguis- and most experienced to the communi- tics at the School of Philosophy, Lan- The production ty’s youngest members,” explains Storto. guages and Literature, and Humanities When older people stop using a certain at the University of São Paulo (FFLCH- of material language and children stop learning it, USP). She refers to an estimate that for use in the result is the disappearance of that there were more than a thousand na- language. Schools, which could inter- tive languages spoken in the country be- communities vene in this process, aren’t always able fore colonization. Nevertheless, Brazil is to do so. Although indigenous education recognized worldwide for its many lan- is one way of has had its autonomy legally guaranteed guages: there are 37 families or linguistic since 1999, there is no structured educa- subfamilies (Macro-Jê and Tupi are the repaying the tional system—each ethnic group must largest groupings), as well as eight other contributions take responsibility for conceiving its own isolated languages—that is, languages plan. As there are few native profession- unrelated to any other known language. of indigenous als with the training to do this, commu- The indigenous population in the nities rely on specialized collaboration country has grown to 896,917, accord- people to develop specific teaching materials ing to data from the Brazilian Institute for their own language. of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), The linguist’s work with indigenous but the number of people who speak communities is extensive and almost al- these languages is continually declin- ways begins with the description of the ing—today, only 434,664 people are able language in its many aspects—sounds to speak them. Although many of these and their combinations, words and their native peoples don’t live on indigenous Tradição, universais e diversidade (Indig- composition, sentences and their for- lands, most indigenous language speak- enous languages: Tradition, universality, mation, and the language in actual use. ers are concentrated in the demarcated and diversity), scheduled for release in An initial synthesis of this knowledge areas that occupy 13% of the Brazilian 2019, Storto explains that while health results in theoretical works that can territory and favor the preservation of care and nutrition have improved among take the form, for example, of a gram- the language and culture of these ethnic indigenous peoples, “historical preju- mar text. Such was the case for Storto, groups. In the book Línguas indígenas: dice” causes many to abandon their own whose doctoral thesis, defended at the languages, believing this is the most suit- Massachusetts Institute of Technology able way to obtain fluency in the Portu- (MIT) in the United States, was ded- guese language. icated to Karitiana, the language of a gani r Ver r For languages with an oral tradition, community living in an area located in u t h

the consequences of this process are di- Porto Velho, Rondônia. Ar sastrous. “Knowledge is passed down “It’s common that this is the first ap- from generation to generation, mainly proach, because every language has a

through narratives told by the oldest logic, and linguists have techniques to ILLUSTRATION

76 z august 2019 extract this logic and write down a gram- Starting from the description, which documenting indigenous languages,” mar,” explains Filomena Sandalo, a pro- is also a way of understanding and mas- the UNICAMP researcher explains. fessor in the Department of Linguistics tering the language, the work can de- She adds, “The themes I’m looking for of the Institute of Language Studies at velop in different directions. Sandalo’s are the universals of the language, that the University of Campinas (IEL-UNI- work has an unusual trajectory because which characterizes human language CAMP). Sandalo has been a researcher it is subordinated to theoretical discus- regardless of culture and society.” on the subject for more than 25 years. sions in the field of generative linguis- As part of her doctoral thesis, defended tics. Presented by the American linguist Digital corpus and website at the University of Pittsburgh in the and philosopher Noam Chomsky in the As part of the project “Frontiers and United States, she created a grammar for late 1950s, this field abstractly describes asymmetries in phonology and mor- the Kadiwéu language, which is spoken and explains language, which is under- phology,” which proposed experiments by the eponymous indigenous commu- stood to be an innate capacity of the hu- with Portuguese and Kadiwéu in order nity whose territory is located in Mato man brain. “I created a grammar which to discuss linguistic theory, Sandalo co- Grosso do Sul. was atypical among those working on ordinated the creation of a digital corpus of this indigenous language. Available for consultation at UNICAMP’s Tycho Brahe Project website, this corpus brings together some of the Kadiwéu people’s narratives in sound and text files, with a translation of each of the words (an- notations to a text to explain the mean- ing of a word, for example, are called “glosses” by linguists), as well as mor- phological analysis. The aim is twofold: to serve both for linguistic research and for educational use. “A corpus is also a mechanism for preserving languages,” the project coordinator adds. In the field of theoretical research, the Preserved from childhood production of material for use in com- munities is seen as a way of repaying the contributions of the indigenous people. When she was invited by the bicho, fala de gente – Cantigas de “We do a lot of work documenting texts Juruna to record their lullabies, ninar do povo juruna (Animals and sentences, and we need them to help Cristina Fargetti was surprised. speak, people speak—Lullabies of us the entire time with translations. In A few years earlier, she had asked the Juruna people; Edições SESC). exchange, we produce didactic material: members of the community if The book provides a complete a spelling reference, a documentation there was a tradition of women study of the genre, comparing it to project,” says Storto. Such projects, she singing at night for their children. Portuguese and Brazilian songs, explains, have significant value to these There wasn’t. “If you ask the discussing their meaning among communities: “If exhibited at school, a wrong question, you’ll get the the Juruna, and presenting video of ancestors speaking the language, wrong answer,” she says today, transcriptions and contextualized for example, is useful as a record of tra- after discovering that the tradition translations of 49 songs. The rich ditional knowledge.” does exist but that lullabies can musical repertoire of this ethnic Given the importance of writing in be sung only during the day, group is also the object of a study Western culture, the preliterate nature until around 4:00 p.m. The Juruna by researcher and composer of hat indigenous languages contributes believe that sleep temporarily Marlui Miranda, who wrote the to their vulnerability. For this reason, takes people’s souls away from transcriptions of the songs Fargetti the orthographic part of the project is their bodies. If they were sung collected, which are reproduced often part of the work of the linguist, at night, these songs would quickly on a CD that accompanies the who establishes the alphabet and the push the soul away. Pulled into book. There are also discussions rules for its use. This was what Wilmar the darkness, it wouldn’t be able about humor among the Juruna D’Angelis did in the early 2000s in a joint to return. This would lead to and how they view the differences effort with the in the western illness or even to the child’s death. between humans and animals— region of the state of São Paulo, where he The result of the research, aspects that are important for worked for almost four decades, initially which had as its goal the understanding the songs and that as an indigenist and later as a linguist. In revitalization of this indigenous evoke specific understanding of a participatory process, the community tradition, can be found in Fala de linguistics and anthropology. and researcher adapted an orthography developed in the 1960s for the Kaingang

pESQUISA FAPESP z 77 34,470 The languages and their speakers

8,596 Number of indigenous people fluent in their native languages 19,905

4,887

Speakers

Current 1.575 population 1,240 594 649 229 311 271 205

People Karitiana Nhandewa- Juruna Kadiwéu Kaingang Krenak -guarani

Linguistic Tupi guaicuru macro-jê Family

Linguistic Arikém Tupi- Juruna Kadiwéu Jê Krenak Subfamily -guarani

Sources Luciana Storto and Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden (Karitiana), Mônica Thereza Soares Pechincha (Kadiwéu), Kimiye Tommasino and Ricardo Cid Fernandes (Kaingang), Rubem Ferreira Thomaz de Almeida and Fabio Mura (Nhandewa-Guarani), Maria Hilda Baqueiro Paraiso (Krenak), Tânia Stolze Lima (Juruna) – Indigenous peoples in Brazil, Instituto Socioambiental; Censo Demográfico 2010: Características Gerais dos Indígenas (Demographic Census 2010: General Characteristics of the Indigenous population), Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.

of southern Brazil. Both a defender and Guarani, the Krenak, and the Kaingang a creator of inclusive projects, D’Angelis of São Paulo, researchers are working also highlights the importance of the in- The production on retrieving linguistic information, digenous language being visible in com- as well as conducting teacher training munities with access to technology; not of literature workshops and producing materials for seeing their own language on the inter- indicates teaching the languages. The group is fi- net, “in what to indigenous people will nalizing the second volume of the book appear to be the largest space for dis- the language’s Lições de gramática nhandewa-guarani semination and circulation of ideas and (Nhandewa-Guarani grammar lessons) information,” can generate the belief that vitality and and, by request from the community it- native languages have value only as folk- self, will publish a scholastic dictionary lore, without function in the real world. gives cause for of the São Paulo in Therefore, the researcher considers it celebration 2019. Unlike works that point out corre- essential to create contexts in which the sponding terms in both Portuguese and language is actually used. the respective native language—works It was this thinking that guided the that, according to D’Angelis’s estimate, 2008 creation of Kanhgág Jógo, the first would consult one indigenous speaker website entirely in an indigenous lan- for every 100 nonnative consultants—the guage in Brazil. The result of the collabo- dictionary proposes to show what the ration of D’Angelis’s research group with terms mean within the Kaingang cul- members of the Kaingang communities Information retrieval ture. Among the challenges the research of , the project was Together with his students who meet group faces is the task of stimulating, in then repeated with other ethnic groups. in the InDIOMAS research group, the the language’s few remaining speakers, For D’Angelis, preventing the use of tech- UNICAMP professor carries out proj- the memory of terms they don’t use to- nology would be akin to taking a refrig- ects with the participation of members day because they refer to situations or erator to the village and only allowing of several indigenous communities. By elements that no longer exist, such as the storage of food brought from the city, engaging languages that were about to animals that are no longer seen or cus- leaving out anything produced locally. go out of use, such as the Nhandewa- toms that are no longer practiced.

78 z august 2019 Natives in Cacoal, Roraima state, from the Surui, Cinta-Larga, and Karitiana ethnic groups attend a ceremony commemorating the delivery of educational tablets

Another researcher working against use. “Today, there are many young peo- Among the Karitiana, the last decades the current of proposals that present in- ple typing in their own language and have also been marked by valuing their digenous culture from a Western view- typing very fast. This is a sign that the own culture, with a gradual rise of lead- point is Cristina Fargetti. A professor of language makes sense, has a function, ership formed within the community, linguistics at the College of Letters and and that they prefer to use Juruna to notes Luciana Storto. In her view, since Sciences at São Paulo State University Portuguese,” observes Fargetti, now the at least 1991, outside leaders and teach- (FCL-UNESP), Araraquara campus, Far- coordinator of LINBRA (the Brazilian ers have been replaced by members of getti has been developing a vocabulary Indigenous Languages Research Group), the community, which has become self- of the since 2010. She which gathers students around the study managed and is striving to offer com- explains that instead of translating terms of indigenous languages. plete elementary education within their like “snow” into a culture that doesn’t Appreciating their own culture is, own village. “The trend is that they are even have this concept, her goal is to among the Juruna, a reality based on becoming self-sufficient, but without ask how the Juruna see reality itself. For the importance given to the language isolation,” she observes. “People are on an entry on a certain bird, for example, itself [see inset]. Although in the late the internet, they’re studying, they’re in addition to the translation into Por- 1960s there were around 50 Juruna, seeking employment. It’s not possible tuguese, it’s important to understand there are currently more than 500, and to stop time. The ideal scenario is that aspects such as its association with a all are speakers of their native language. they bring the diversity and specificities myth or song and the connotations of Portuguese is used only with nonindig- of their cultures to the professions they its birdsong. enous people or visitors of other ethnici- will be pursuing,” she says. n ties. According to the UNESP professor, Literary production with the learning of written Juruna, the Projects Fargetti’s work with the Xingu Indig- younger members of the group began to

gani 1. Contact and linguistic change in Alto Rio Negro (no. 14 enous Park community in show more interest in the stories and / 50764-0). Grant Mechanism Regular Research Grant; r Ver r u began about 30 years ago during her myths told by their elders. “They dis- Principal Investigator Luciana Raccanello Storto (USP); t h Investment R$66,326.29.

Ar master’s research, which was dedicated covered that the written stories were 2. Frontiers and asymmetries in phonology and mor- to the Juruna language. At that time, the always reductions or adaptations of what phology (no. 12/17869-7). Grant Mechanism Thematic language had no written record, with is alive and dynamic in the spoken ver- Project; Principal Investigator Maria Filomena Spatti Sandalo (Unicamp); Investment R$422,423.59. the exception of lists of words desig- sions, so that the spoken stories came ILLUSTRATION nated by travelers and a few scientists. to be valued more,” explains Fargetti. Scientific articles o / ABr / o Several years later, participation in a There is also literature being produced D’ANGELIS, W. da R. Do índio na web à web indígena. In: D’ANGELIS, W. da R.; VASCONCELOS, E. A. (Org.). Conflito panat training project for indigenous teach- in Juruna, especially in verse. This fact linguístico e direitos das minorias indígenas. Campinas: a m ers led to the proposal of a Juruna or- is, for the researcher, a cause for celebra- Editora Curt Nimuendajú, p. 111–21. 2011. Available at: bit.ly/webindio. er C er alt thography, in which members of the tion: “Poets never announce the death FARGETTI, C. M. Breve história da ortografia da língua ju- actual community discussed solutions of their language, but, rather, its full vi- runa. Estudos da Língua(gem). v. June, p. 123–42. 2006. HOTO V

P for a written version that facilitated its tality,” she adds. Available at: bit.ly/OrtogJuruna.

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