Linguistic Subjectivity in Ecologies of Amazonian Language Change
Linguistic Subjectivity in Ecologies of Amazonian Language Change
Variability in cultural ideologies of subjectivity is linked to language, specifically to the ways in which ethnolinguistic differences are socially mobilized and territorialized. I compare different indigenous ideologies of linguistic subjectivity within Amazonia through an examination of two multilingual language and culture areas: the Vaupés or Upper Rio Negro and the Upper Xingu. I show that their populations harbor differing cultural assumptions. Those in the Vaupés value the benefits of plurilingualism, whereas those in the Upper Xingu adhere to monolingualism. I argue that these differences in ideological understandings of the speaking subject have affected the development of these speech communities in divergent ways. Such processes are entwined in the ecology of language evolution.
Keywords: subjectivity, language ideology, Vaupés, Upper Xingu
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