LOOKING AT LANGUAGE, SEEING IDEOLOGIES: BLINDNESS AND UTOPIA IN THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE

Abstract

The text discusses the relationship between language, ideology and domination, questioning traditional concepts of linguistics, such as the language x speech split and the motto “one nation, one language, one culture”. Through authors such as Saramago, Pratt and Rajagopalan, it explores how linguistic ideologies shape homogeneous visions of community, obscuring the real practices of speakers. It proposes a critical review of linguistic categories to encompass heterogeneity and sociocultural contexts. The metaphor of blindness, inspired by Saramago and the film They Live, illustrates how ideologies distort the perception of reality. Finally, it suggests that language not only represents, but constitutes reality, requiring an ethical and political perspective.