Língua como patrimônio cultural. Práticas linguísticas dos descendentes dos Poloneses no sul do Brasil

The paper presents the results of ethnographic and linguistic research based on interviews and analysis of written sources. Our primary task was to define the role that Polish language was playing in old periodicals published in Brazil, how it was changing, and how it has been functioning today. Linguistic analysis of texts written in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century shows that the variant of the Polish language in Brazil had a crucial meaning in identifying and uniting Polish emigrants. It was the language of education and culture of Polish Diaspora in Brazil. The analysis of contemporary ethnolinguistic data shows that the Polish-Brazilian dialect, although different from the everyday language used in Poland, is highly valued and has been part of the cultural heritage practiced on a daily basis by descendants of Poles.