Es kommt net raus – The role of social networks, language maintenance and identity construction of Hunsrückisch speakers in Santa Maria do Herval, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Kersch, Dorotea Frank
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://www.periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/ActaSciLangCult/article/view/27416
• topic: social networks; identity; language maintenance; Hunsrückisch; redes sociais; identidade; manutenção linguística; Hunsrückisch; manutenção linguística e identidade

People in some regions in southern Brazil still speak Hunsrückisch as their mother tongue after more than 190 years from the start of German immigration in the country. Current study, developed in a small town (~6000 inhabitants) in the highlands of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, with a bilingual population speaking Portuguese and Hunsrückisch, an underrated variety of the German language. The role of social networks in the process of the maintenance/substitution of Hunsrückisch and parallel identity issues are investigated. Results showed that the relative isolation experienced by communities in recent years could have contributed towards a multiplex organization, favouring the maintenance of Hunsrückisch. Increasing urbanization and intensified access to the social media (television, telephone and internet) will likely change the traditional pattern. The highly rural culture will develop into a variety of urban culture which, in turn, will deeply affect spoken Hunsrückisch.