Linguistic individuation and glottopolitics: the case of Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese show clear, deeply-rooted differences. However, it has always been thought that this is mere diatopic variation. This article asks whether the obvious linguistic distance between the two justifies considering them different languages, as has happened with Galician and Portuguese. We briefly summarize the criteria for linguistic individuation and some of the more obvious differences between the two varieties, which have led some linguists to conclude that the individuation of Brazilian has already taken place. Finally, we present and discuss the socio-economic and ideological foundations of the proposed secession