A configuração plural da frase nominal em uma comunidade de candomblé e suas implicações para práticas educativas

Abstract

This study examines variation in noun phrase (NP) number agreement among followers of Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion, with potential implications for education. In standard Brazilian Portuguese (STA), the plural configuration within the NP – our dependent variable – attracts plural marking for all pluralisable elements (“O-S lago-S lindo-S”/“The beautiful lakes”). This is privileged in educational practices. In informal contexts, this redundant nominal number agreement is optional (“O-S lago-Ø lindo-Ø”). Users of the nonstandard variant (-Ø) often face linguistic prejudice. In Brazil, STA/-Ø variation emerged in colonial times from the contact of people with different native languages, a process in which early Candomblé communities participated. We hypothesised that such process partially explains the present variation in this sociolinguistically understudied religion. We re-examine data ethnographically collected in a previous study that included interviews with participants in a Candomblé community in Salvador/Brazil. In quantitative analyses, age-schooling interaction showed statistically significant effects over the dependent variable. This suggested an age- and schooling-related change in progress when qualitative analyses of field notes were included. Findings may inform better literacy practices: whilst STA is taught at schools, learners’ realisations of vernacular -Ø should also be validated, as both variants are communicatively equal, promoting social change.