MOCK PORTUGUESE: A SIDE OF LINGUISTIC PREJUDICE IN BRAZIL

The present article analyzes the everyday and widely spread use of "portugues de arremedo" among Brazilians. The term "portugues de arremedo" is adopted in reference to the linguistic practice in which a person replicates words and expressions of non-standard varieties, on the margins of standard Portuguese, with the intention of showing a playful behavior and sense of humor. The article conducts a qualitative analysis of data that is profusely shared online through messaging applications, blogs, social media, as well as traditional media. Based on concepts and studies from sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, it demonstrates that (1) "portugues de arremedo" produces a false sense of innocuousness; (2) the person who produces "portugues de arremedo - that is, the person who imitates the non-standard, marginalized varieties of Portuguese - occupies a position that is the result of linguistic and social inequality; and (3) the person who produces "portugues de arremedo" is, in part, responsible for the reproduction of such inequality.