La batalla de las lenguas extranjeras en Brasil:

¿Queda español?

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article analyzes the teaching of Spanish in Brazil from a glottopolitical perspective, which conceives linguistic interventions as political acts that shape meanings about the place of languages in society (ARNOUX, 2000, 2024). Although the Brazilian educational context remains marked by the hegemony of English, recent years have seen a growing complexity with the entrance of other foreign languages into the arena of dispute — such as French, German, and Italian — driven by diplomatic pressures linked to new international agreements, like the one proposed between Mercosur and the European Union. In this context, the study aims to analyze the discourses that underpin six recent bills in order to interpret how ideological meanings are constructed and legitimized in current disputes over the place of Spanish in the Brazilian education system. Using a theoretical-methodological approach that combines glottopolitical analysis tools — language ideologies (ARNOUX; VALLE, 2010), ideologemes (ANGENOT, 1982), and enthymemes (BARTHES, 1982) — with the theory of mental triggers (CIALDINI, 2001; 2016), the study examines rhetorical strategies and ideological meanings present in parliamentary justifications. The results show that the legislative arena functions as a glottopolitical space where not only the teaching of languages is negotiated, but also the legitimation of competing national projects.