[en] ENGLISH AND ENGLISHES: A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE BRAZILIAN NONNATIVE SPEAKERS EFFECT UPON STANDARD ENGLISH

[pt] WILSON MALAFAIA PEIXOTO

[en] 2ND LANGUAGE

[en] ENGLISH

[en] A constant debate that surrounds the English teaching area is related to the massive production of nonstandard forms that naturally emerge in nonnative populations. English teachers are commonly served with two opposite views: on one hand, the prescriptive view advocates on the maintenance of Standard forms, whereas on the other hand, a descriptive view defends the importance and the legitimacy of the language produced by nonnative population. This debate poses a complex puzzle to English teachers, considering the spread of communicative methods in language education, where teachers are encouraged to present students with real language. The question of whether the nonnative language production should be seen as real language, a language in its own rights, remains unanswered. In light of such considerations this study aims at analyzing two aspects of the English language produced in Brazil: the first is related to linguistic uniformity, that is, whether or not the English produced by Brazilian speakers has notably common traits that would facilitate its acceptance as a separate variation. The second is concerned with the identification of influence that this variation may cause on native speakers of English, adding, this way, a new variable to the discussion of nonnative English recognition. As a consequence, this study has investigated the speech of eight native speakers of English who have been interacting with Brazilian speakers of English as a foreign language, in order to identify traits of language variation in the former’s speech. Not surprisingly, the majority of the interviewees have reported on identifying traits in their use of English which were not present before the mentioned interactions, although some of them have also reported on the influence of Brazilian Portuguese. In light of these results we have briefly proposed a discussion on the contemporary role of nonnative speakers of English in a global scenario, as well as on the complex role of contemporary nonnative teachers of English as error mediators, being responsible, on one hand, for the presentation of the Standard forms, and on the other hand for the valorization of the regional and cultural variations which are created by the new English users.

BARBARA JANE WILCOX HEMAIS

2013-04-17

[pt] TEXTO

application/pdf

INGLÊS

https://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/colecao.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=21513@2

https://doi.org/10.17771/PUCRio.acad.21513