Beliefs and attitudes in the Southwest of Paraná: tendencies of reaction towards different languages and ethnicities

Abstract

This article presents partial results of a research on linguistic beliefs and attitudes of speakers from three localities in the Southwest of Paraná, on the border of Argentina: Santo Antônio do Sudoeste, Pranchita and Capanema. This region experienced legal, political and social disputes engendered by the process of land occupation, whose implications may have been reflected on the relations established among the various ethnic groups that contacted each other in that territory, fostering both positive and negative manifestations towards the local speeches. The study focuses on the tendencies of reaction towards neighborly, affective and professional relationships with members of different ethnic groups that belong to the population of the localities. The discussions are guided by theoretical and methodological principles of Sociolinguistics, Sociology of Language and Social Psychology related to the topic.