The Dialect of Polish Spoken in Cruz Machado, Paraná

The Polish language was brought to Brazil by Polish-speaking peasants who came to the New World in the late 19th and early 20th century. Since then, the language has been developing in relative isolation from the European Polish context. In this monograph, the author focuses on a dialect of Polish still spoken in a remote community in the south of Brazil. The dialect’s origins, history, and present character are investigated to portray the language as a result of a multilingual process with a specific starting point. On the basis of the original data recorded in the community, the author establishes a viable baseline for future in-depth studies of linguistic phenomena. She pays special attention to the distinct identity of the speakers, which mirrors the dialect’s distinct character.