Portuguese 233 - Borderlands of Portuguese: Multilingualism, Language Policy and Identity

This course considers the shifting borders of Portuguese as a local, national and global language. We explore language diversity within and across Lusophone countries and communities, noting differences in pronunciation and vocabulary and ways in which some varieties are esteemed and others stigmatized. We examine how different institutions have promoted and shaped Portuguese within and beyond officially Portuguese-speaking nations, and address multilingualism and ways in which Portuguese interacts with English, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, and Indigenous languages in Brazil and Africa. Throughout, we consider views of writers and musicians as they reflect upon the language of their creative expression and what it means to be Lusophone in the world today. Course taught in Portuguese. Prerequisite: POR 125 or POR 200, or permission of the instructor.