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Author Byrd, Steven, 1973-

Title Calunga and the legacy of an African language in Brazil / Steven Byrd
Published Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, [2012]

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Historical overview -- Linguistic overview -- Sociolinguistic and sociohistorical considerations of Calunga -- The Calunga lexicon -- Calunga grammar
Summary Although millions of slaves were forcibly transported from Africa to Brazil, the languages the slaves brought with them remain little known. Most studies have focused on African contributions to Brazilian Portuguese rather than on the African languages themselves. This book is unusual in focusing on an African-descended language. The author describes and analyzes the Afro-Brazilian speech community of Calunga, in Minas Gerais. Linguistically descended from West African Bantu, Calunga is an endangered Afro-Brazilian language spoken by a few hundred older Afro-Brazilian men, who use it only for specific, secret communications. Unlike most creole languages, which are based largely on the vocabulary of the colonial language, Calunga has a large proportion of African vocabulary items embedded in an essentially Portuguese grammar. A hybrid language, its formation can be seen as a form of cultural resistance. This study provides a comprehensive linguistic description of Calunga based on two years of interviews with speakers of the language. The author examines its history and historical context as well as its linguistic context, its sociolinguistic profile, and its lexical and grammatical outlines
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Portuguese language -- Dialects -- Brazil -- Minas Gerais
Portuguese language -- Dialects -- Brazil -- Foreign elements -- African
Portuguese language -- Brazil -- African influences
African languages -- Influence on Portuguese.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY -- Portuguese.
African languages -- Influence on Portuguese
Civilization -- African influences
Portuguese language -- Dialects
SUBJECT Brazil -- Civilization -- African influences. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85016523
Subject Brazil
Brazil -- Minas Gerais
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2012022589
ISBN 0826350860
9780826350862
9781283621274
1283621274
9780826350886
0826350887
9786613933720
6613933724