Language in Society 32, 1–21. Printed in the United States of America DOI: 10.10170S0047404503321013 Multilingualism and ethnic stereotypes: The Tariana of northwest Amazonia ALEXANDRA Y. AIKHENVALD Research Centre for Linguistic Typology La Trobe University Melbourne, Australia
[email protected] ABSTRACT Tariana is spoken by about 100 people in the multilingual area of the Vaupés basin in northwest Amazonia (Brazil). Other languages spoken in the area are members of the East Tucanoan subgroup, with its most numerous representative, the Tucano language, rapidly gaining ground as a lingua franca. Also spoken are Makú languages; Baniwa, an Arawak language spoken on the fringes of the area and closely related to Tariana; and Por- tuguese, the national language. The area is known for its language group exogamy and institutionalized multilingualism, with its language being the badge of identity for each group. Language choice is motivated by power relationship and by status, and there are strict rules for code-switching. Inserting bits of other languages while speaking Tariana (“code-mixing”) has different consequences that mirror existing ethnic stereotypes. Code- mixing with Tucano is considered a “language violation”; using elements of Baniwa is considered funny, while mixing different Tariana dialects implies that one “cannot speak Tariana properly.” Overusing Portuguese is associated with the negative image of an Indian who tries to be better than his peers. (Brazil, Amazonia, Tariana, language ideology, code-mixing, eth- nic stereotypes.) INTRODUCTION The choice of the language of interaction in a multilingual society can be an important site for the reproduction of ethnic stereotypes associated with each language.