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Linguistic ambiguity in Timor- Leste: local languages between pride and shame
Boldoni, Carolina
2021
Abstract
Emerging from centuries of Portuguese colonisation and a violent Indonesian
military occupation lasted 24 years (1975-1999), Timor-Leste became the first
sovereign state of the 21st century, in 2002. The Democratic Republic of Timor-
Leste adopted Portuguese and Tetun Dili as the two national languages and this
decision has been under debate since the birth of the nation, not just among
local politicians, but also among foreign consultants and scholars. Based on an
ethnographic fieldwork lasted 18 months, conducted between 2017 and 2018, this
paper aims to address the ambiguities regarding the linguistic diversity in Timor-
Leste. Local indigenous languages have been undergoing a process of governmental
recognition (being 20 the local languages mentioned in the Constitution as ‘mother
tongues’) and other international institutions have developed projects aimed to
their safeguard. However, often both in national institutions as well as to a more
grassroot level, the local linguistic diversity is considered more as a burden than
as an asset. By focusing on these local ambiguities, the paper aims to discuss the
interaction between linguistic prestige and status, as well as economic relations
embedded in the Timor-Leste national linguistic policies.
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Carolina Boldoni, "Linguistic ambiguity in Timor-
Leste: local languages between
pride and shame", in: Ilaria Micheli, Flavia Aiello, Maddalena Toscano, Amelia Pensabene (Edited by), "Language and Identity Theories and experiences in lexicography and linguistic policies in a global world", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2021, pp. 231-243
Leste: local languages between
pride and shame", in: Ilaria Micheli, Flavia Aiello, Maddalena Toscano, Amelia Pensabene (Edited by), "Language and Identity Theories and experiences in lexicography and linguistic policies in a global world", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2021, pp. 231-243
Languages
en
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internazionale
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