LINGUISTIC POLICIES IN ANGOLA: THE SILENCE OF THE UMBUNDU LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE OVIMBUNDU
Language policies. Linguistic colonization. Umbundu language. Ovimbundu.
This dissertation proposes to analyze the language policies implemented in Angola that fostered the silencing of the Umbundu language and the cultural identity of the Ovimbundu, initiated by the Lusitanian colonizers and continued by the Angolan authorities in the post-independence period. Therefore, a survey of the sociolinguistic reality of Angola prior to the presence of Portuguese-speaking colonization was carried out, focusing on the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the first peoples to settle in the territory of Angola of the Khoisan and the Vatwa; The characteristics of the social, ethnic, cultural and linguistic organization of the Angolan population of Bantu origin were also presented, which allowed the inference that Angola, before Portuguese colonization, was a country cemented by the multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual model. Therefore, it became imperative to discuss the linguistic and cultural situation of Angola during the presence of Portuguese colonization. The colonization process caused ruptures in the linguistic board and in the cultural level of the Angolan men and women. It is known that the Portuguese-speaking colonizers used the indigenato status policy and the assimilationist policy as tools with the aim of hegemonizing the Portuguese language and devaluing the different Angolan languages. Alongside these issues, the present work fits into the field of language policies, in terms of (CALVET, 2007; RAJAGOPALAN, 2013; SILVA, 2013; SPOLSKY, 2016; SEVERO, 2013, among others). To achieve the research objectives, a variety of methodological paths were adopted, such as content analysis and documentary and bibliographical research.