O sujeito enunciativo na dimensão identitária e cultural do ser imigrante que vive o fenômeno entre - línguas.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the enunciative subject in the identity and cultural dimension of immigrants who experience the between-languages phenomenon during the early 21st century from two perspectives: Grosjean’s (1996, 2013) theory of bilingualism which establishes modes of monolingual and bilingual language to explain linguistic phenomena in bilingual speech; and the anthropological enunciative view coined by Flores (2019) which is based on Émile Benveniste’s Theory of Enunciation (2005, 2006) that reflects on linguistics which consider the human experience in their condition as a speaker. The analysis corpus for this qualitative study comprises the linguistic testimonies of bilingual, bicultural Brazilian immigrants residing in the USA. Data was collected through interviews conducted in the state of Florida, employing a combination of semi-structured and semi-open questions. The aim was to gain insight into how they perceive themselves as speakers in their ‘between-languages’ position. The immigrant is presented focusing on the linguistic territory highlighting the imbrication between language, human, culture and society: which can be seen in the conflicts experienced living in a relationship with two languages (English / Portuguese) and with two cultures (American / Brazilian) in order to find themselves as subjects in the new society they inhabit, which is also composed of a linguistic and sociocultural reality different from their place of origin. In terms of methodology, this study adopts a qualitative approach with applied field procedures for data collection. Transcriptions of the enunciative subjects’ testimonies from the interviews were preserved in their original form. These transcriptions were then analyzed to uncover evidence of linguistic alterations or transitions between different language systems. This process sheds light on how immigrants, exposed to two linguistic frameworks, manage their thoughts, self-perception, and expression as speakers. Similarly, it examines how the immigrant defines themselves as a speaker and exerts influence on the language. The analysis focused on three Brazilian immigrants from diverse age groups, independent of gender or occupation, who actively utilized both languages in their daily lives within the USA. Therefore, the objective was to analyze the Brazilian immigrant as an ethnographer of themselves from an enunciative-anthropological perspective. This involved identifying linguistic phenomena and modes of language in the immigrant’s statement as well as visualizing what constitutes living betweenlanguages from the personal perception of the Brazilian subjects as speakers. Because this study falls within the realm of Human Sciences, specifically in the field of Linguistics, it is acknowledge that it could present the researcher’s particular perspective. However, the author has maintained an objective distance from the subject matter.While this study refrains from asserting absolute truths, it contributes to Benveniste’s theory of enunciation, emphasizing the interplay of language in intersubjective and intersocial contexts. Furthermore, it aligns with Flores’s (2019) perspective that language is an integral part of human experience, revealing the essence of the speaker, as well as, Grosjean’s theory of bilingualism (1996, 2013) provide avenues for engaging in interdisciplinary dialogues within these frameworks, extending into other areas of the scientific universe.