C9069 - LINGUA PORTOGHESE E BRASILIANA I (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students develop an in-depth understanding of the linguistic and metalinguistic features of the Portuguese language in its two main varieties, European and Brazilian, which are examined from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Special attention is also given to sociolinguistic and language-teaching applications related to their learning.Through practical exercises, students further consolidate their communicative skills, both receptive and productive, reaching level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Course contents

The course of "Portuguese and Brazilian Language" has two parts:
1. - Formal lectures given by the professor (60 hours);
2. - A language learning course (36 hours) given by the tutor.

1. LINGUISTIC COURSE CONTENTS:

Inspired by the Museu da Língua Portuguesa in São Paulo, “the world’s most important museum dedicated to a language” (as defined by Giuseppe Antonelli), which will mark the twentieth anniversary of its opening in 2026, this course – entitled “Por um novo Museu da Língua Portuguesa” – begins with a preliminary reflection on the various processes of turning intangible heritage, such as languages, into museum exhibits, in order to reflect not only on the rationale behind the creation of that Brazilian linguistic archive and its increasingly, and inevitably, technological modes of engagement, but also, and above all, on what it means today to transform an intangible cultural asset such as words into a museum exhibit, starting precisely from the analogous experience of the Portuguese language. An experience which, beyond the criteria inherent in the practical realisation of a museum, whether physical or virtual – an aspect which, of course, largely transcends the ambitions of the course presented here – implies, first and foremost, a question regarding the initial selection of the physical and digital exhibits on display there, namely as to which linguistic artefacts, texts and documents should be (or might aspire to be) eligible to feature as ‘quotations’ within that ideal museographic narrative which we call the ‘Portuguese language’. Viewed from this perspective, therefore, the apparent teleological linearity of the museum’s exhibition itinerary becomes, in reality, an opportunity to rethink the concept of ‘linguistic history’ – far more controversial than it appears (as Várvaro teaches us) – particularly in the case of a pluricentric language such as Portuguese, whose multifaceted plurality of voices, unfortunately, still struggles to find a place in ‘exhibitions’ or ‘displays’ (be they traditional handbooks on the history of language or actual museum exhibitions), which are invariably characterised by a strong nationalistic bias and, despite their all-encompassing title, focus almost invariably on individual varieties. But if the ‘museum-like’ approach, apart from not constituting reality – as is obvious (cf. Desvallées and Mairesse, 2016) – fails even to document it, then, to continue with the museum metaphor, we must attempt to reconstruct, room by room, the history of Portuguese’s millennial and intercontinental journey from perspectives other than those – unfortunately all partial – from which it has been recounted to date – that is, perspectives that are less celebratory and, indeed, more consciously critical. This is precisely what this course, with the active participation of the students (as detailed in the ‘assessment methods’), sets out to do, whilst also engaging in dialogue – and not merely due to obvious scientific and disciplinary affinities – with Prof. Vecchi’s course, significantly entitled ‘Museu Brasil’.

2. PRACTICAL LANGUAGE CLASSES CONTENTS (Esercitazioni linguistiche)

The Portuguese and Brazilian Practical Language Classes (LM) course aims to refine the morphosyntactic, lexical and communicative skills of students who already possess a solid grounding in the Portuguese language, by exploring linguistic structures and their communicative functions in greater depth. In line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the Camões PLE Reference Framework, the module aims to develop a more conscious and precise use of the language in authentic communicative contexts, whilst promoting interactional competence amongst students.

The study of grammar (e.g. nominalisation, verbal periphrases with aspectual nuances, complex subordination, logical connectives) will be geared towards developing the linguistic competence characteristic of levels C1/C2, through the practice of discourse organisation mechanisms and the recognition of strategies used in text types and various communicative situations. From a practical perspective, attention will be given to constructing arguments in more complex forms, to recognising and using structures typical of informal, formal and academic registers, and to the differences between spoken and written language.

Although the module focuses on European Portuguese, it will, where possible, include activities comparing the European and Brazilian varieties, aimed at identifying the main morphosyntactic, lexical and pragmatic differences, with the aim of developing a greater awareness of the diversity and uses of contemporary Portuguese.

Readings/Bibliography

The final exam will cover some of the following course readings, which will be made available to students at the beginning of the Linguistics course:

Primary Sources

BASSO Renato – GONÇALVES Rodrigo Tadeu (2014). História Concisa da Língua Portuguesa. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes.

CARDEIRA, Esperança (2006). O Essencial sobre a História do Português. Lisboa: Editorial Caminho.

CASTRO, Ivo (1991). Curso de História da Língua Portuguesa. Lisboa: Universidade Aberta.

CASTRO, Ivo (2006). Introdução à História do Português (segunda edição revista e muito ampliada). Lisboa: Colibri

DA SILVA Jaime Ferreira – OSÓRIO, Paulo (2008). Introdução à História da Língua Portuguesa. Dos factores externos à dinâmica do sistema linguístico. Lisboa: Edições Cosmos.

FARACO, Carlos Alberto (2016). História sociopolítica da Língua Portuguesa. São Paulo: Parábola.

FARACO, Carlos Alberto (2019). História do Português. São Paulo: Editora Contexto.

NETO, Serafim da Silva (1988). História da Língua Portuguesa. 5^ed. Rio de Janeiro: Presença-INL.

SPINA, Segismondo (2008). História da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Ateliê Editora.

TEYSSIER, Paul (1982). História da Língua Portuguesa. Lisboa: Livraria Sá da Costa Editora.

VENÂNCIO, Fernando (2020). Assim nasceu uma língua. Sobre as origens do português. Lisboa: Guerra e Paz.

Secondary Sources

BONAS, Marília (2023), Choices and challenges in (re)constructing the Museum of Portuguese Language. In: G. Antonelli – G. Micheletti – A. Poli (a cura di), Verso il Museo multimediale della lingua italiana. Riflessioni, esperienze, linguaggi. Bologna: Il Mulino, pp. 81-84;

JESUS, Priscila Maria de (2014), Uma reflexão sobre o processo de musealização: o patrimônio imaterial nos espaços museais. In: Cadernos de Sociomuseologia, 48, pp. 95-110;

MATTOS E SILVA, Rosa Virgínia (2004). Idéias para a história do português brasileiro. In: Ensaios para uma sócio-história do português brasileiro. São Paulo: Parábola;

MULINACCI Roberto (2020), Prolegômenos para uma história linguística da lusofonia (des)unida. In Vieira – Bagno (orgs.), História das línguas, histórias da linguística. Homenagem a Carlos Alberto Faraco. São Paulo: Parábola, pp. 205-227;

OLIVEIRA, Marilza de (2023). Content and Assembly of Estação da Luz Museum of Portuguese Language. In: G. Antonelli – G. Micheletti – A. Poli (a cura di), Verso il Museo multimediale della lingua italiana. Riflessioni, esperienze, linguaggi. Bologna: Il Mulino, pp. 85-96;

VÀRVARO, Alberto (1972). Storia della lingua: passato e prospettive di una categoria controversa. In: Romance Philology, 26, pp. 16-51.

PRACTICAL LANGUAGE CLASSES (Esercitazioni linguistiche)

- Hermínia Malcata, Hoje em dia, Lisboa, Lidel, 2016.

https://m.lidel.pt/pt/catalogo/portugues-europeu-lingua-estrangeira/exercicios/hoje-em-dia/

Teaching methods

The linguistics course consists of lectures, with readings and individual study by students.

The Language Exercises course, on the other hand, consists of practical Portuguese language lessons that require active participation by students.

Assessment methods

The assessment of learning will be divided into two distinct stages: in the first stage, tentatively scheduled for the last two weeks of the course, as evidence of the course’s practical applications, students will be required to present in class their own museographic project on the history of the Portuguese language, that will be the subject of discussion and debate not only with the lecturer but also with all their fellow students on the course; the second stage, on the other hand, will consist of a full oral examination, designed to assess not only the student’s acquisition of specific skills relating to the topics in linguistic history covered by the course, but also their more general ability to critically re-examine the various theoretical issues inherent to the discipline, thereby demonstrating their ability to put the arguments and analytical tools provided in class to good use.

The candidate's ability to illustrate at length and in a pertinent manner the topics dealt with during the course, relating or comparing them and demonstrating the ability to master them with theoretical competence and terminological appropriateness will be assessed with marks of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with a limited ability to analyse and, above all, articulated in a correct but not always appropriate language, will lead to discrete evaluations.

Formative deficiencies and/or inappropriate language will lead to grades that do not exceed a pass.

Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the materials offered during the course will only lead to negative marks.

The final mark will also test linguistic skills with particular reference to fluency, clarity and students' capacity to use correct morphosyntactic constructions and lexis. The final grade for this component of the exam accounts for 60%.

Practical Language classes (Esercitazioni linguistiche):

This component of the exam consists of two parts, a written and an oral test, based on the contents of the language classes. These two parts assess the students' capacity to understand and use the Portuguese language at the C2 level of the Common European Framework for Languages. Students have to pass the written test with a minimum grade of at least 18/30, before taking the oral exam. The final grade for this component accounts for 30% and is the mean of the scores obtained in the two parts, written and oral.

There are no prerequisites requirements between the course exam and the language practice exam. The exams for the two courses can therefore be taken in different sessions and in any order.

For the practical language exame, however, prerequisites are strictly enforced, to the extent that the oral exam can only be taken after passing the written exam.

The use of AI tools during the written examination is prohibited in any form, including chatbots, text generators, advanced translation tools, content synthesisers and tools built into devices. Any use of AI is considered a breach of the principle of honesty and fairness set out in the Policy and may result in the examination being annulled by the lecturer, who remains responsible for verifying the validity of the examination.

Finally, please note that each exam session includes at least two exam dates for the linguistics module, one for the written part of the practical exercises and two for the oral part.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations, which, updated after each individual lesson, will be made available to students on the Virtual Platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/my/).

Students with SLDs or temporary or permanent disabilities: we suggest that you contact the relevant university office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) and your professor immediately to work together to find the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for exams.

Any requests for accommodations must be made at least 15 days before the date of the exam, by sending an email to the lecturer and copying (Cc) the email address disabilita@unibo.it (in case of disability) or dsa@unibo.it (for students with Specific Learning Difficulties).

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Mulinacci