Ethnicity in motion: constructing <i>brasilidade</i> by giving former migrants autochthonous status

The paper presents the postmodern perspective on autochthony from a theoretical approach. The previously held contrast between allochthonous and autochthonous people has undergone a change; nowadays, researchers propose that the two qualities form the poles of a continuum, where different grades of being autochthones may be distinguished. As has Canada, the Brazilian government has recently paved the way, conceding the status of autochthony to language communities living for at least three generations in the country. By recognizing cultural, and at the same time linguistic diversity as an important essential part of the process of constructing the new image of being Brazilian, a brasilidade (LESSER, 2015), the unique language use developed by descendents of European migrants, is now regarded as part of the historical and artistic immaterial patrimony in South America. --- Original in English --- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2017n42a91