La langue générale et la grammatisation des langues indiennes

Abstract

This article analyses certain aspects of the grammatisation of Brazil's native languages, especially the Tupi language. The historical and discursive constitution of the lingua geral ("general language") is considered with respect to certain of its varieties. Thanks to the study of bilingual dictionaries (Portuguese-Tupi, Tupi-Portuguese), we can examine the appearence, in the 19th century, of both the practice of the archives studying conducted in the Geographic and Historical Institute of Brazil, and the development, in the study of native languages, of two tendencies: nationalist romantism and universalist naturalism.