Attitudinal Dimensions of Guarani-Spanish Bilingualism in Paraguay.

Rubin’s ground-breaking study of Paraguayan bilingual at­ titudes toward the Guaranl-Spanish contact situation has been criticized by de Granda. Here, recent attitudinal data confirm most of Rubin’s observa­ tions, while endorsing some of de Granda’s criticisms. This sample of largely female, professional, bilingual Paraguayans is more loyal to Guarani; how­ ever, contrary to de Granda’s assertions, ethnolinguistic pride is more in evi­ dence for Guarani, and Spanish pride is more utilitarian. De Granda ques­ tions Rubin’s notion of ambivalence about Guarani, but these data support Rubin’s position, despite the fact that monolingualism in either language is not favored by a large majority. Counter to de Granda’s argument and in sup­ port of Rubin’s, these Paraguayans are as insecure about Guarani as they are about Spanish. These informants do not reserve their linguistic insecurity for what de Granda refers to as the spoken norm (Saussure’s parole), but instead respond to parole and langue as a single entity.' Introduction. Paraguay’s unique situation of Guaranl-Spanish bilingualism has fascinated sociolinguists for at least forty years, and is perhaps even more interesting to Paraguayans, who have a highly developed awareness of the socioaffective, cultural, and political significance of their two languages. The study of language attitudes provides an important perspective on the interaction of these two languages and, as de Granda (1980-81:787) notes, may help shed light on the social and psychological factors that influence language change. This report also suggests issues of public opinion that language policy makers should consider in determining the fumre roles of Paraguay’s two principal languages, especially with respect to literacy education. 'The author would like to thank the Fulbright Commission and Western Washington University for making this study possible. A special thanks is due to Kirsten Sutton for coding the data analyzed here. 3 6 SOUTHWEST JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS, VOLUME 17, NUMBER 2 (1998) Paraguayan language attitudes have been studied from a number of perspec­ tives using very different methods and subjects. Garvin and Mathiot (1956) ana­ lyzed the attitudes found in writings of Paraguayan intellectuals and they allude as well to comments made during interviews. Rubin (1962) examined the use of language in the media, the institutional support of language, and interviewed widely. Rona (1966) developed a questionnaire that measured beliefs about Guaram and Spanish, as well as the ability of the seven subjects in his study to translate from Spanish to Guaram. Paraguay’s Ministerio de Educaci6n y Culto (1978) surveyed school teachers and parents on their attitudes toward use of Spanish and Guarani in the classroom. De Granda (1980-81) bases his analysis on his own experience in Paraguay, and refers on occasion to a dissertation being written under his direction. As part of a larger study of language attitudes in the school system, Corvalan (1985) used a five question form to survey the attitudes of 12 bilingual teachers. Sold (1991) used a detailed questionnaire to study the attitudes of a largely adolescent population, focusing on language usage and function. Of all the above mentioned studies, Rubin’s remains foundational, and despite the passage of 35 years since the fieldwork, much of what Rubin documented in National Bilingualism in Paraguay (1968) remains true in Paraguay in the late nineties. Despite the lasting validity of many of Rubin’s conclusions about Para­ guayan language attitudes, this significant work has been criticized at length by de Granda, who begins his analysis by rejecting the notion that Paraguayan language attitudes have been well studied at all. De Granda dismisses Garvin anc''»<thiot’s study because it focuses nearly exclusively on Guarani, and he sets asides Rona’s study claiming that Rona’s conceptualization of attitude is sterile and mistaken. Then, de Granda turns his attention to Rubin’s depiction of Paraguay’s sociolinguistic situation, which after praising its importance, he proceeds to describe as dis­ torted, outdated, incomplete, and simplistic. De Granda reviews and attempts to revise five basic conclusions that Rubin makes. First, whereas Rubin insists that language loyalty is felt toward Guaram and not Spanish, de Granda finds language loyalty towards both. Second, Rubin finds pride in Guaram only, whereas de Granda feels that both languages are the object of pride. Third, although Rubin reports ambivalence towards Guaram, de Granda concludes that negative judg­ ments such as those cited by Rubin are simply no longer heard and would be vigorously rejected if suggested. Fourth, while Rubin asserts that prestige is associated mainly with Spanish, de Granda finds prestige associated with both languages. Finally, de Granda addresses the issue of linguistic insecurity, which he feels Rubin has overlooked. 1. Study Methodology and Subjects. All of de Granda’s objections to Rubin’s conclusions are addressed with updated attitudinal data gathered by the author during a Fulbright scholar award in Paraguay from July to December of 1995, the purpose of which was to lecture on applied linguistics and to study sociolinguistic aspects of Paraguayan bilingualism. Nearly all of the people with whom the author ArnrUDINAL d im e n s io n s o f OUARANf-SPANISn BILINGUALISM 37 interacted were involved in bilingual education, a group that includes both standardbearers for Spanish as well as fervent supporters of Guarani language maintenance. Focus groups were conducted with two groups of 70 elementary school teachers from Limpio, a city in Central Department (Figure 1) and a class of 25 social psy­ chology students at Catholic University of Asuncidn. Attitudes were also gleaned from a series of interviews conducted with members of the National Commission of Bilingualism, employees in the curriculum and orientation departments of the Ministry of Education, and numerous other individuals involved with or interested in Paraguay’s bilingualism. A short, preliminary questionnaire was developed, based quite closely on comments made during the focus sessions and interviews, and tested with a group of teachers at a workshop in Fernando de la Mora (Figure 1). The instrument was revised and expanded, readministered, and revised again. Some participants, including the students in the social psychology class, asked family members and acquaintances to fill out the questionnaire. During this pro­ cess (See Table 1 and Appendix), a total of four revisions were made and 650 people were surveyed. Figure 1. Departments o f Paraguay, with Detail o f Municipalities in Central Department 3 8 SOUTHWEST JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS, VOLUME 17, NUMBER 2 (1998) Q uestionnaire F orm