Fifteen indigenous translators are working on a translation of the Federal Constitution into Nheengatu, a Tupinambá language spoken by several peoples who live in the Amazon region. The work should be concluded in October, with the launch of the work in a ceremony in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM). It will be the first version of the Magna Carta in an indigenous language. The initiative is from the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and is being coordinated by the president of the National Library, Marco Lucchesi, and by professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), José Ribamar Bessa. Another project intends to translate the Maria da Penha Law into indigenous languages, responding to a demand presented by the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso (TJMT). According to Lucchesi, these initiatives are just the beginning. “Since Nheengatu has an important relationship with the Portuguese language, in the sense of being permeable, we are going to expand the dialogue with the legal perspective”. to the original languages. Nheengatu is known as the Amazonian general language. It begins to form spontaneously through contact between indigenous people of different ethnic groups in colonial settlements, but undergoes several transformations due to the influence of the Portuguese, especially religious missionaries who sought to grammatize it. and standardize it. In the book Introduction to the Study of Crioulas and Pidgins Languages, researcher Hildo Couto defines Nheengatu as a language whose lexicon is based on Tupi, while the grammar is similar to Portuguese. Despite being work that Lucchesi has been developing personally, the translations are in line with one of the focuses of action of the National Library under his management: increasing the institution’s collection related to indigenous peoples and other traditional populations of the country. “There are almost 300 languages in Brazil, according to the IBGE [Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística]. We are checking and organizing the ordering of bilingual books, so that the Library can also accept them”, he explains. Expansion of the collection is already underway. The institution is keeping photos of populations in the Vale do Javari, in Amazonas, taken in March during an expedition that included the participation of Luchesi. In addition, in the next few days, copies of posters prepared by the TJMT will be received that bring important information about the mother tongues of various indigenous peoples. “The National Library is the mirror of the country’s memory. If Brazil disappeared and the National Library remained, it would have the capacity to speculate, reflect and return the country’s image, because there are several Brazils here. It has the polyphony inside, all the voices”, evaluates Lucchesi. He added that the institution is planning trips to quilombola territories to also produce records in those places. “Today we are concerned with expanding our ethnic dossier.” Internationalization The National Library is also intensifying projects for the internationalization of Brazilian culture. One of them is granting scholarships for the translation of Brazilian works that are in demand by readers in other countries. , the work A Paixão Segundo GH, by Clarice Lispector, received its first translation into Ukrainian in February. The author was born in the European country, but came to Brazil when she was still small, becoming naturalized later. A contribution of R$ 1 million was made by the Ministry of Culture to finance scholarships this year. According to Lucchesi, the institution is also seeking funds for the expansion of the annex building and to speed up the digitization of works. Currently, about a third of the collection of more than 10 million items it is digitized. *Contributed by Léo Rodrigues
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©