TRADUÇÃO, INTERPRETAÇÃO E MULTILINGUISMO NA MUNICIPALIDADE DE SÃO GABRIEL DA CACHOEIRA (AM)

Abstract

This article describes the history of the contact between indigenous languages and Portuguese in the Alto Rio Negro region in the Amazon. It provides an overview of the indigenous languages spoken today in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), and shows that, despite the fact that the municipality has decreed three indigenous languages of great regional importance — Nheengatu, Baniwa, and Tukano — as “official” languages, in practice, these languages are subjugated to Portuguese in the daily life of the town, with no interpreting or use of these languages in public offices or in the health system. The article also examines the history of religious translations into these languages, and work being done to translate literary works into Nheengatu at the University of São Paulo (USP).