During the first decades of the 20th century, the city of São Paulo was marked by a strong Italian presence. Neighborhoods such as Brás, Mooca, and Bexiga concentrated thousands of immigrants who, through interaction with the local population and among themselves, created mixed forms of communication, influenced by different Italian dialects and Portuguese. It is in this context that the term "Italian-Paulista dialect" emerged.
An article published in Italian Magazine, from the University of São Paulo (USP), signed by Giliola Maggio e Rafael Cesar ScabinThe study analyzes how this term has been used over time. The authors' conclusion is clear: more than a real form of shared language, the so-called Italo-Paulistano dialect represents a symbolic and identity-based construction, often based on literary caricatures, such as the character Juó Bananére.
More Italian than Portuguese on the streets
At the beginning of the last century, it was common to hear more Italian than Portuguese in the streets, markets, and public transportation in São Paulo. Newly arrived immigrants spoke mainly Italian. regional dialects of ItalyMany had difficulty learning Portuguese, while others quickly began to blend elements of the two languages.
This contact generated hybrid forms of speech, but not necessarily a stable linguistic variety. According to the study, what existed were interlanguages, that is, individual and transitory forms of communication developed by those learning a new language.
Juó Bananére and the construction of a “dialect”
The consolidation of the idea of an "Italian-Paulista dialect" is largely due to the popularity of Juó Bananére, pseudonym of Alexandre Marcondes Machado. His humorous texts, published in the magazine the bratThey imitated a Portuguese accent with a strong Italian influence, in a parodic and caricatural tone.
Over time, this style became associated with the way Italians spoke in São Paulo. However, according to researchers, it is inaccurate to consider these literary representations as faithful records of the immigrants' everyday speech.
A literary language, not a popular one.
The study shows that the so-called Italo-Paulistano dialect was, in fact, a literary creation used as a stylistic device to satirize social types of the time. Although based on aspects of reality, the use of language by characters like Juó Bananére was more linked to social criticism than to linguistic documentation.
Authors of the time used different terms to refer to this language: "Brás speech," "macaronic Portuguese," "mixed language," and even "Italian-Paulista salad." The classification as a "dialect" became more frequently used due to the character's success.
Construction of otherness
The research also analyzes how the term came to be used to mark identity differences. The way Italians, especially the poorest, from southern Italy, speak has been transformed into a symbol of an "other," seen in an exotic or inferiorized way.
Meanwhile, in Italian-language periodicals published in São Paulo, Juó Bananére's portrayals were criticized. The texts were seen as a mockery of Italians attempting to speak Portuguese, and not as a celebration of Italian-Brazilian identity.
Fragmented heritage and collective identity
Finally, the study highlights that, unlike regions in southern Brazil where the Talian (linguistic variety based on Venetian)In São Paulo, there was neither the time nor the conditions for a new dialect to become established. The rapid integration of Italians, combined with regional diversity and the presence of Portuguese as the dominant language, hindered the formation of a collective mixed language.
The so-called "Italian-Paulista dialect" was, therefore, more of a social and literary representation than a language spoken in a shared way by a community.
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