ABSTRACT
This chapter presents arguments that contribute to the development of the notion of multilingualism in post-colonial countries, and specifically in Brazil. We argue that public verbal silence and censure of languages are part of the history of multilingualism in Brazil, and discuss three instances of these phenomena in relation to multilingual realization in public space. Amerindian languages, African languages, and the languages of communities of formal immigrants, have all been subject to censorship or silencing of some kind at different point in Brazilian history. It is argued that there are many systems of self-reference forged in historically acquired silence outside of the logocentric public dominion, and that these should be considered part of Brazil’s multilingual constitution. We also propose the initial elements of a hypothesis for understanding the response to the censure of mother tongues in public space in Brazil as a primary Self-Organization process.
