Language born of colonialism thrives again in Amazon

By Larry Rohter, NY Times
Published: August 28, 2005

Pidgin language concocted by Jesuit priests (from "Indian, African and Portuguese" changes significance, now an indigenous creole versus official Portuguese.

"Nheengatú, which is pronounced neen-gah-TOO and means "good talk," is now a language that is permitted to be taught in local schools, spoken in courts and used in government documents. People who can speak língua geral have seen their value on the job market rise and are now being hired as interpreters, teachers and public health aides."

"But the persistence and evolution of Nheengatú is marked by contradictions. For one thing, none of the indigenous groups that account for more than 90 percent of the local population belong to the Tupi group that supplied língua geral with most of its original vocabulary and grammar."

All Ears for Tom Cruise, All Eyes on Brad Pitt
NYTimes Op/Ed by Nicholas Kristof - July 26, 2005

Yikes - too late to get the link before it went premium. This is an op-ed on how the US media is at fault for not reporting more on the situation in Sudan.