ブラジル日系社会における言語使用の動的諸相

Abstract

This paper analyses the dynamic aspects of language use by each generation of Japanese Brazilian speakers (issei, nissei, sansei) in two different communities in Brazil, Aliança and Fukuhaku Mura (city of Suzano), the first in the interior of Brazil and the second in the surroundings of an urban center. It shows how language is used in different domains comparing the two communities. The following results were found:(1) First generation speakers use Japanese not only within the family domain but also outside it. They use Portuguese at work and watch Brazilian TV programs, but they only read newspapers written in Japanese. It shows that they have a higher level in listening skill compared to reading skill. (2) First generation speakers who immigrated in an early age have the same tendency as adult immigrants. However, in Fukuhakumura they seem to have more contact with Brazilian media and use more Portuguese at the workplace than the speakers in Aliança. (3) The use of Japanese language by second generation speakers is basically limited to the family domain, although it is still used in some domains outside home. These speakers showed a preference to Japanese when talking with friends. At workplace, Portuguese is more used than Japanese. As for the media domain, the second generation speakers watch NHK programs but rarely read Japanese newspapers. This shows that the reading proficiency declines fast in the process of language shift. (4) The language shift process from Japanese to Portuguese is completed in the third generation, except in the case where the speakers live with the grandparents. In this case they acquire Japanese at home.