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21. The appearance and use of bozal language in Cuban and Brazilian neo-African literature

  • William W. Megenney
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Spanish in Contact
This chapter is in the book Spanish in Contact

Abstract

Towards the end of the 19th century, in both Cuba and Brazil, scholars became increasingly interested in the contributions of African slaves to the formation of these societies. In Cuba, the ethno-historical and scientific studies of Fernando Ortíz, among others, inspired numerous writers to produce literary works reflectingel ethos del negro as an integral part of Cuban society. These writings, which evoked numerous Afro-Cuban themes, were supposedly written in a style of language that reflected how Afro-Cubans spoke as a consequence of contact between Spanish and various Sub-Saharan languages. Similar literary works were produced in Brazil. During the 19th century, waves of African slaves to Brazil, above all from the Kwa group, left an indelible imprint on the society. Along with the various scientific studies that emerged from this time, theSemana de Arte Moderna served to inspire authors to write literary works aimed at capturing cultural trends termed “neoafronegroide.” One important aspect of this was language use. This chapter analyzes the literary antecedents of these movements in Cuba and Brazil as well as the language of these texts. Did these texts authentically reproduce Creole orbozal varieties of language, or did they merely produce varieties of literary style that achieved a kind of “African ambiance”? This research also demonstrates a few ways in which these authors incorporatedbozal varieties into their writings, principally in poetry.

Abstract

Towards the end of the 19th century, in both Cuba and Brazil, scholars became increasingly interested in the contributions of African slaves to the formation of these societies. In Cuba, the ethno-historical and scientific studies of Fernando Ortíz, among others, inspired numerous writers to produce literary works reflectingel ethos del negro as an integral part of Cuban society. These writings, which evoked numerous Afro-Cuban themes, were supposedly written in a style of language that reflected how Afro-Cubans spoke as a consequence of contact between Spanish and various Sub-Saharan languages. Similar literary works were produced in Brazil. During the 19th century, waves of African slaves to Brazil, above all from the Kwa group, left an indelible imprint on the society. Along with the various scientific studies that emerged from this time, theSemana de Arte Moderna served to inspire authors to write literary works aimed at capturing cultural trends termed “neoafronegroide.” One important aspect of this was language use. This chapter analyzes the literary antecedents of these movements in Cuba and Brazil as well as the language of these texts. Did these texts authentically reproduce Creole orbozal varieties of language, or did they merely produce varieties of literary style that achieved a kind of “African ambiance”? This research also demonstrates a few ways in which these authors incorporatedbozal varieties into their writings, principally in poetry.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Heritage Spanish in the United States
  5. 1. Subjects in early dual language development 3
  6. 2. Interpreting mood distinctions in Spanish as a heritage language 23
  7. 3. Anglicismos en el léxico disponible de los adolescentes hispanos de Chicago 41
  8. Part II. Education and policy issues
  9. 4. Teaching Spanish in the U.S. 61
  10. 5. The politics of English and Spanish aquí y allá 81
  11. 6. Language attitudes and the lexical de-Castilianization of Valencian 101
  12. 7. Are Galicians bound to diglossia? 119
  13. Part III. Pragmatics and contact
  14. 8. Addressing peers in a Spanish-English bilingual classroom 135
  15. 9. Style variation in Spanish as a heritage language 153
  16. 10. “Baby I'm Sorry, te juro, I'm Sorry” 173
  17. 11. Cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system on Andean Spanish 191
  18. 12. La negación en la frontera domínico-haitiana 211
  19. Part IV. Variation and contact
  20. 13. On the development of contact varieties 237
  21. 14. Linguistic and social predictors of copula use in Galician Spanish 253
  22. 15. Apuntes preliminares sobre el contacto lingüístico y dialectal en el uso pronominal del español en Nueva York 275
  23. 16. Is the past really the past in narrative discourse? 297
  24. 17. The impact of linguistic constraints on the expression of futurity in the Spanish of New York Colombians 311
  25. 18. Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation 329
  26. 19. Está muy diferente a como era antes 345
  27. Part V. Bozal Spanish
  28. 20. Where and how does bozal Spanish survive? 359
  29. 21. The appearance and use of bozal language in Cuban and Brazilian neo-African literature 377
  30. Index 395
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.22.27meg

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Heritage Spanish in the United States
  5. 1. Subjects in early dual language development 3
  6. 2. Interpreting mood distinctions in Spanish as a heritage language 23
  7. 3. Anglicismos en el léxico disponible de los adolescentes hispanos de Chicago 41
  8. Part II. Education and policy issues
  9. 4. Teaching Spanish in the U.S. 61
  10. 5. The politics of English and Spanish aquí y allá 81
  11. 6. Language attitudes and the lexical de-Castilianization of Valencian 101
  12. 7. Are Galicians bound to diglossia? 119
  13. Part III. Pragmatics and contact
  14. 8. Addressing peers in a Spanish-English bilingual classroom 135
  15. 9. Style variation in Spanish as a heritage language 153
  16. 10. “Baby I'm Sorry, te juro, I'm Sorry” 173
  17. 11. Cross-linguistic influence of the Cuzco Quechua epistemic system on Andean Spanish 191
  18. 12. La negación en la frontera domínico-haitiana 211
  19. Part IV. Variation and contact
  20. 13. On the development of contact varieties 237
  21. 14. Linguistic and social predictors of copula use in Galician Spanish 253
  22. 15. Apuntes preliminares sobre el contacto lingüístico y dialectal en el uso pronominal del español en Nueva York 275
  23. 16. Is the past really the past in narrative discourse? 297
  24. 17. The impact of linguistic constraints on the expression of futurity in the Spanish of New York Colombians 311
  25. 18. Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation 329
  26. 19. Está muy diferente a como era antes 345
  27. Part V. Bozal Spanish
  28. 20. Where and how does bozal Spanish survive? 359
  29. 21. The appearance and use of bozal language in Cuban and Brazilian neo-African literature 377
  30. Index 395
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