Características do contato da língua ticuna com a língua portuguesa: uma análise da situação linguística da comunidade Vila Betânia

Abstract

This study focuses on understanding the impacts of linguistic contact between Ticuna and Portuguese on the sociocultural reality of the Ticuna people living in the Vila Betânia district, located in Alto Solimões, Amazonas. Based on the problematization “What are the challenges of the Ticuna people in preserving their native language and culture today?”, we sought to investigate the dynamics of use, the factors that affect the maintenance of the Ticuna language, and the community strategies of resistance in the face of the growing influence of the Portuguese language in institutional and social spaces. The general objective of the research is to analyze the challenge of preserving the native language and culture of Ticuna society in contemporary times, especially in the face of pressures imposed by hegemonic educational models, the predominant presence of Portuguese in school and administrative contexts, and the internal transformations experienced by the community itself, such as urbanization, mobility, and changes in linguistic attitudes among new generations. The methodology adopted was based on a qualitative approach with an ethnographic and sociolinguistic focus, combining participant observation, the application of sociolinguistic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with community residents. The research sought to understand linguistic uses in different age groups and social domains, record perceptions about the Ticuna language and raise local initiatives to value and teach the language. Based on these data, it was possible to identify that, although the Ticuna language remains alive and functional in various contexts, it faces significant challenges related to its symbolic devaluation, the weakening of intergenerational transmission and the absence of effective public policies for linguistic preservation. The results indicate that the conservation of the Ticuna language directly depends on the strengthening of traditional cultural practices, the institutional recognition of linguistic diversity and the engagement of the community in pedagogical, political and symbolic actions that reaffirm its identity through the ancestral word.