Portuguese or not portuguese: the question between Amílcar Cabral and Paulo Freire and its lessons for the timorese brothers

Abstract

This study analyses Paulo Freire’s literacy program in Portuguese-speaking African countries, particularly with regard to the choice of the language of instruction. Its central focus is the linguistic dilemma arising from the differing positions of Amílcar Cabral and Paulo Freire concerning literacy education in Portuguese within the African Countries of Portuguese Official Language (PALOP). For political reasons, Cabral regarded the Portuguese language as a “gift” and as a unifying force among diverse ethnic and linguistic groups, a position that Freire interpreted as a constraint on his educational intervention. Freire advocated literacy instruction in Creole, arguing that the exclusive use of Portuguese reproduced the elitist character of the educational system, since it was a language detached from the social practices of the people. Following Bowen's (2009) qualitative approach to documentary analysis, which involves skimming, reading, and interpretation, this article examines the sole point of disagreement between Cabral's thought and Freire's literacy program: the use of the colonizer's language in emancipatory education and the implications of this debate for language policy in Timor-Leste. By comparing this experience with the latter case of Timor-Leste’s independence, where Tetum was granted co-official status and employed in literacy programs, the article highlights a more open language policy, albeit one marked by new dilemmas of its own.