The German language at an old immigration area in Itajaí Valley (Santa Catarina State): A study in two communities

Abstract

In this paper we discuss partial data of a research project that had the objective of carrying out a survey of the linguistic situation in two German-Brazilian rural communities, in Blumenau, located in the Itajaí Valley, Santa Catarina State. Concerning the theoretical dimension, this study is affiliated to the areas of Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics, specifically concerning schooling in multilingual and intercultural contexts. In relation to the methodological procedures, for reaching these social groups, we started from the schools located in the mentioned communities. The instruments used were two sociolinguistic questionnaires, one answered by students of the Elementary Schools and the other by their families. The data indicate that the German language is used in most of the social spheres, on oral mode, especially in the familiar scope. The results show that a great part of the subjects are bilingual, and their parents show positive attitudes concerning their inheritance language, besides mentioning the relevance of both languages for their children’s future. This research allows us to refl ect upon the importance of assuring the learning of the German language in formal education, side by side with Portuguese, in bilingual contexts like these ones. We conclude by reaffirming the need of further studies in order to understand the sociolinguistic situation in bi/multilingual communities, so that new policies of linguistic education could be enhanced, ensuring an intercultural education.

Keywords: multilingual contexts, German language, social bilingualism.