Chapter 9 I Argumentative£55a1/5 1595 Rebelo'sbill...rejectstheincreasinginfluxofEnglishexpressionsand
requiresthatBrazil'snativetonguebe usedinbusiness,formal,andsocial
situations.Whilethosestricturesarelaughedoffbymanyasunenforceable-one
envisions"languagepolice"monitoringcafechatterandthelike-Rebelo'sbill
thundersthatthosenotrespectingPortugueseare"damagingBrazil'scultural
patrimony."Thelinguisticoutlawswouldfaceasyetundecidedpunishment-
perhapsclassesinPortuguese,Rebelohassuggested.
6 Onegoalofthebillis linguisticpurityamonggovernmentofficials,Rebelo
says,citingtheoffensesofPresidentFernandoHenriqueCardoso,whorecently
usedtheEnglishexpression"fasttrack"ina speech.
7 Thebillwouldparticularlyaffecttheworldsoffinanceandcommerce,
wherethrowingupa signinEnglishisseenasa trendywayofgrabbingpotential
customers'attention.Accordingtoa recentstudy, 93 ofthe 252 storesinSao
Paulo'sMorumbishoppingcenterfeaturedEnglishwordsintheirnames.That
wouldchangeunderRebelo'slaw.TheownersofLaundromatwouldhavetowash
theirhandsofthename.Hotdogswouldbeoffthemenu,andpersonaltrainers
wouldhavetofinda newwaytodescribetheirservices.TheBancodoBrasil's
"PersonalBanking"wouldneedtotranslateitself,andtheRockinRiomusicfestival
wouldhavetodancetoa differenttune.Children'sclothingstoreKidSmartwould
loseitsexoticappealina countrywheremostpeopledonot speakEnglish.
8 AlthoughRebelorecognizesthatintoday'sfast-pacedandshrinkingworld,
wordslike"e-mail,""mouse,"and"delete"haveenteredPortuguesealmost
overnight,hesaystherushtouseEnglishwordsignoresthefactthatinmany
casesperfectlygoodPortugueseonesalreadyexist."Wecansayentregaa
domic;iliobecauseeveryoneknowswhatit means,sowhyusetheword
'delivery'?"Rebeloasks,highlightingonerecentfad."Restaurantsuse'valet
parking,'butwhynotusemaniobrista?Thislawwillprohibittheseabuses."
9 LinguisticexpertsagreeandpointtotherichnessofPortuguese.Usedas
anofficiallanguageinsevencountriesoutsideofPortugal,Portugueseboasts
24 vowelsounds,comparedwithfiveinEnglish,andincludesmorethan
350,000wordsderivedprimarilyfromLatin,Arabic,andIberiantriballanguages.
10 AntonioOlinto,anauthorandmemberoftheBrazilianAcademyofLetters,
saysthat,althoughit is impossibletolegislatehowpeopletalk,theproposalhas
valuebecauseit hascreateda debateabouttheuseofforeignwordsinBrazil.
Whilestoppingthetrendis impossible,hesays,Brazilcancounterthelinguistic
invasionbyadaptingitslanguage,justasit didwiththeword"football"(soccer),
whichovertimebecamefutebol."Globalizationexists,andI don'tthinkthereis
anywayofescapingit,"saysMr.Olinto."Butintime,wordswillbeadaptedinto
Portuguese,andthingswillgetbetter."Rebeloacknowledgesthatthedesireto
speakEnglishmayeventuallyebb,buthecalledonBraziliansmeanwhiletouse
theirmothertonguewheneverpossible.
11 Thelegislatoradvisesthosetemptedtoutterorwriteforeignwordstoconsult
thestylebookof 0 EstadodeSaoPaulo,oneofthenation'sbiggestnewspapers,
whichoffersthefollowingwordywisdom:"(1)Youhavea language,Portuguese,
thatisjustasgoodandasfunctionalasanyother.(2)Itisyourlanguage."
12 Butit'sthecashregister,notlinguisticpride,thatinspireslingeriestore
managerSilvanaCannonewhenshe'slookingforjusttherightword."Wecutthe
lettersoutourselves,and'Sale'isshorterthanPromoc;ao,soit'seasier,"she
explains."Nowadays,everyoneknowswhat'sale'means.Andbesides,it sounds
morechic."