Disobeying through Language: the linguistic insurgency in The Sound of The Jaguar’s Roar, by Micheliny Verunschk

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the novel O som do rugido da onça (2021), by Micheliny Verunschk, highlighting the linguistic innovations developed by the author as a strategy to destabilize hegemonic discourse surrounding historical events in Brazil. By narrating the abduction of Indigenous children by European scientists, Verunschk introduces elements of Indigenous languages into a Portuguese-language narrative, adopting a non-Eurocentric perspective. The analysis is primarily based on the reflections of Gloria Anzaldúa (2009), according to whom language must correspond to a way of living, and Walter Mignolo (2003), through the concept of bilanguaging. For both authors, language is not limited to an element of collective identity tied to a geographical territory,but also functions as an instrument of disobedience to the colonial project. Thus, we examine how Verunschk’s work, by fictionalizing a historical event from a non-Eurocentric perspective, employs language as a tool to destabilize structures of power.