Dialogism, axiological position and identity: an analysis of attitudinal evaluations/valuations in memorials of indigenous candidates for an entrance exam selection

Abstract

This work analyzes the construction of discursive identity in memorials produced by two indigenous teachers participating in the Selection Process for admission to the Indigenous Intercultural Degree course at IFPE – Campus Pesqueira-PE. The investigation is based on the thinking of the Bakhtin Circle (Volóchinov, 1976; 1993; 2017; Bakhtin, 2003[1979]), especially on the concepts of dialogism, enunciation and axiological position, articulated with the Appraisal theory (Martin and White, 2005), focusing on the Attitude subsystem. This is qualitative research, of an exploratory nature, which seeks to understand how the axiological positions identified through evaluations/valuations attitudes expressed in the memorials signal the construction of identity in the discourse. The results show that the enunciators' identity emerges as a dialogical activity that tensions ideologies, community values, cultural practices and institutional demands. The study reinforces the relevance of language as a scope of socio-ideological extension and identities as discursive instances constructed dialogically in interactions.