Language, alterity and national identity: analysis of a discourse about immigration in Brazil’s Vargas Era

Abstract

The historical relations between the Brazilian society and the immigrants are more complex than the common sense show us. They include different values that are in contact, as well as the construction of several negative images of the otherness. An example of that is in the text of Ribeiro Couto entitled “O problema da nacionalização”, in which he presents proposals for the solution of a national problem: the assimilation of immigrant groups that were isolated of the remainder of the Brazilian society to maintain his values, his traditions and his language. The author tries to “equate” this problem preparing a hierarchy of the different immigrant groups and showing like the national language can be an assistant in the process of assimilation. The author intends to “equate” this problem by constructing a hierarchy of different immigrant groups and showing how the national language can help in the process of assimilation. The school is chosen at the time as a privileged space to make the integration of immigrants. The text also proposes a new immigration policy that excludes Japanese immigrants and values the presence of European immigrants for reasons beyond the idea of work and culture. To examine these issues, this article uses the French semiotics, especially tensive semiotics to explain the formation of values, and socio-semiotic to understand the interactions between identity and alterity.