Lusofonia - Some Thoughts on Language

Lusofonia is a concept coined fairly recently, and in reference to the existing eight Lusophone countries, along with other Portuguese-speaking groups, such as the Portuguese communities abroad, otherwise known as the Portuguese Diaspora. The term has been controversial given its symbolic power, related to the Portuguese language as the vernacular of the colonizer. Lusofonia, however, nowadays serves as a buzz-word for the generalities and platitudes repeated by political figures in the postcolonial Portuguese-speaking world, a usage that frequently reflects a confused understanding of language and its role in identity formation. Unfortunately, political expediency often appears to be reason enough to allow for muddy thinking. What I propose here is an attempt to “unmuddy” some of the misconceptions held by these prominent figures in referencing Lusofonia, misconceptions that are often echoed by the media in a rather uncritical fashion. This paper will critically scrutinize some often-repeated claims concerning the nature and impact of language, through an analysis inserted into the particular context of the on-going Lusofonia debate. My analysis forms a part of a much larger, on-going series of reflections in which I draw upon the experiences of major writers from the Lusophone world, whose battles over language occur almost daily.