The Maintenance of Portuguese As a Heritage Language in Winnipeg
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THE MAINTENANCE OF PORTUGUESE AS A HERITAGE LANGUAGE IN WINNIPEG BY CARLOS A. MOTA A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION Department of Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences The University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba Deœmber, 1997 National Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 WMiStreet 395, nie Wellington OtiawaON KIAûN4 OtCiwaON K1AW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive ticence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distn'bute or sell reproduire, prêter' distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fiilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownefship of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de cellwi ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE UNIVERSITY OF iMALYITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ***** COPYRIGEIT PERMISSION PAGE A Thesismnicticom submitteà to the Faculty of Grnduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial filmment of the reqnirements of the degree of Carlos A. Hota Permission has been granted to the Library of The University of Manitoba to lend or seil copies of this thesis/practicurn, to the Plational Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or seil copies of the filin, and to Dissettations Abstracts International to pubIis h an abstract of this thesis/pracdcum. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither this thesidpracticum nor extensive extracts from it may be p~tdor otherwise reprodnced without the author's written permission. The Maintenance of Portuguese as a Hetïtage Language in Wnnipeg is a study of the maintenance of the Portuguese language among members of the first and second generations in the Portuguese cornmunity in Winnipeg. In order to understand the context of this language maintenance, important details of the Portuguese immigration to Canada and of the Portuguese cornmunity in Winnipeg are presented. The study examines the extent to which the Portuguese language has been used by first and second generation members and determines the differenœs in language proficiency present in both generations. The respondents, members of 66 Luso-Canadian households in Winnipeg, were randomly seleded from the Winnipeg Telephone Diredory. The findings indicate that the Portuguese language is still widely used among members of the Portuguese cornmunity in Winnipeg, especially by members of the first generation, and mainly in the domains of family, friendship, church, and several businesses and services. Although approximately one third of second generation mernbers use Portuguese frequently, especially with their parents and grandparents, English is their language of preference in al1 other domains. In terms of language proficiency, both generations have high levels of wmprehension skills. However, there exists a wide gap between first and second generations in speaking, reading, and writing skills. In spite of the data indicating a gradua1 loss in language use in al1 its strands (wmprehension, oral, reading, and writing), there has been a conscious and continuous effort by the Portuguese institutions to develop cultural activities, as wll as language programs, in order to promote and maintain the Portuguese linguistic and cultural values in Winnipeg. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 would like to express my gratitude to al1 members of the Portuguese community in Winnipeg, especially the respondents, who generously agreed to participate, thus wntributing to the completion of this study. Their time, patience, and personal insights were very much appreciated. Special thanks is due to Dr. Pat Mathews, my advisor, for his availability, time, and professional guidance throughout the various stages of this thesis. I am also grateful to Dr. Jon Young and Dr. Moshe Nahir, thesis wmmittee members, for their constructive criticism and advice. Finally, my sincere appreciation is extended to my parents, who, although educated under a fascist regime, always valued the benefits of education; to Fatima, my dear wife and proofreader of this document, for her love, understanding, and continuous encouragement and moral support; to Natalie, my teenage daughter, for her loud music, challenging arguments, good sense of humor, and friendly smiles; and to Lenny, my eight year old son, for wanting to play games in the cornputer when 1 needed it the most, for his jokes, and for his competitive soccer games during the writing process, which kept me aware of my fatherly responsibilities. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract . Acknowledgments . Chapter 1. Introduction to the Study Rationale . Significance of the Study . Purpose Statement . Procedure . Definition of Terms . Limitations of the Study . Chapter II. Portuguese Immigration to Canada Background in Portugal . Introduction . Political Life . Economy . Education . Social Life . Conclusion . Settlement in Canada Early Arrivals . Immigration to Canada since the 1950's . The First Jobs The Urban Movement Chapter III. The Portuguese Comrnunity in Winnipeg . Introduction . Establishment of the Portuguese Community and Businesses Comrnunity Organizations and Culture Maintenance . The Portuguese Population of Winnipeg Education . The Cultural Dilemma of TmGenerations Conclusion . iii Chapter IV. Review of the Literature . Introduction - Language Maintenance and Shift . Portuguese Language Maintenance . "Portinglês" in Winnipeg . The Canadian Policy of Multiculturalism and Language Maintenance . Chapter V. Portuguese Language Maintenance in Winnipeg: A Suwey . Methodology . The Subjects . The Instrument Collecting the Data.. Findings . Respondents' Background . Portuguese Language Use. self-Rating of ~ortugueseLanguage Knowiedge Language Preference . Family Domain Friendship Domain . The Church Domain. Social Organizations Domain . Business and Service Domain . The Mass Media Domain . Participation in Language Programs . Participation in Cultural and Religious Events . Opinions and Attitudes on Language Maintenance Conclusion . Chapter VI. Factors that Influence the Maintenance of Portuguese in Winnipeg. Chapter VI!. Conclusions, Unexpected Findings, and Future Research . Conclusions . Unexpected Findings Future Research . Appendix A Memorandum . Appendix B "Portinglês" Vocabulary . Appendix C UM Faculty of Education Ethics Approval Form. 120 Appendix D Language Survey . 121 Appendix E QuestionMo . 128 Appendix F The Portuguese in Winnipeg (Map) . I35 Notes 136 References 137 TABLES Table 2.1 Political Prisoners between 1932-1945 . Table 2.2 Portuguese Legal Emigration by Decades,1895-1 974 . Table 2.3 Names of Portuguese Origin Along the Atlantic Coast . Table 2.4 Portuguese Ernigration to Canada and Manitoba Table 5.1 Respondents by Generation, Age Group, and Gender. Table 5.2 First Generation Level of Education. Table 5.3 Mother Tongue by Generation. - Table 5.4 Language Frequently Used. Table 5.5 Frequency of Use of Portuguese by Generation. Table 5.6 Knowiedge of Portuguese: First Generation. Table 5.7 Knowiedge of Portuguese: Second Generation. Table 5.8 Language used with family members (first gen. ). Table 5.9 Language response of family members (first gen.) Table 5.1 0 Language used wi-th family members (sec. gen.) Table 5.1 1 Language response of family members.(sec. gen.) Table 5.12 Language used wSthfamily members (a generational comparison). Table 5.13 Language use with friends . Table 5.14 Church Attended, Language of Prayer, and Language of Religious Instruction Table 5.15 Social Organizations: Use of Portuguese Table 5.16 Business and Service Domain, by First Generation Respondents . Table 5.17 Business and Service Domain, by Second Generation Respondents . Table 5.18 Frequency of Mass Media Contact, by First and Second Generations Table 5.19 Level of Comfort of Language Used by Mass Media Table 5.20 Level of Participation in Religious and Cultural Events Table 5.21 Percentage of Portuguese People that use their Heritage Language in Winnipeg . Table 5.22 Importance of Maintenance Table 5.23 Own Use of Portuguese . CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY The phenornenon of migration from a home country to a different linguistic and cultural environment pressures the newly arrived immigrant to face the dilemma of acculturating into the new society while simultaneously responding to the responsibility of maintaining and transmitting his or her language and cultural values. Recognizing that both the language and culture are the strongest links that unite a geographically dispersed people connecting them to the country of origin. Correia de Jesus (1990). Secretary of State for Portuguese Emigrant Communities, stated one of his govemment's top priority to support the maintenance of homeland values among the four million Portuguese emigrants in the diaspora. This policy reinforces Portugal's officia1 language policy which has the objective of maintaining and developing the Portuguese language in other wuntries and guaranteeing its survival in the