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Article published In: Language of Empire, Language of Power
Edited by Kees Versteegh
[Language Ecology 2:1/2] 2018
► pp. 77–90

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Língua de Preto, the language of the African slave community in Portugal (16th–19th centuries)

 | LLF, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Published online: 9 November 2018
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https://doi.org/10.1075/le.18001.kih
Abstract
Língua de Preto ‘language of the Blacks’ (LdP) is the conventional name for the basic variety of Portuguese spoken by the West African slaves deported to Portugal from the end of the 15th century onwards, who formed an important and visible minority within the Portuguese population until the end of the 19th century. The restructured Portuguese they used with the white Portuguese and among themselves is partially known to us through theatre and folk literature. Although its heyday was the 16th century, it apparently continued in use until the 18th century. The present article tries to account for its emergence and continuance and to assess its possible contribution to the formation of West African Portuguese Creoles. What LdP implies for the Portuguese attitude toward language issues is also examined.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Slavery in early modern Portugal
  • 2.An outline of LdP grammar
  • 3.LdP as a basic variety
  • 4.LdP’s changing functions
  • 5.LdP and the West African Portuguese Creoles
  • 6.Conclusion: Language ecology in the Portuguese Empire
  • Notes
  • References
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