O poder da palavra falada: Gênese e sentidos dos manuais para discursos no Brasil da virada do século XIX para o século XX

Abstract

Between the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, a host of speech manuals were published in Brazil. They offered models for utterings on solemn occasions such as weddings, funerals, arrivals and departures, New Year’s festivities, and historical commemorations, among other ceremonies classified by anthropologists as rites of passage. The family orator (O orador familiar), The popular orator (O orador popular), The orator of the people (O orador do povo), and The modern orator (O orador moderno), printed by various publishing companies and written by different individuals, were widely sold and consulted. They were adaptations inspired by European epistolary manuals. Their authors intended, in a society with high levels of illiteracy, to intervene in forms of oral communication so as to mold values and behaviors. This article suggests that such books tried to redirect the modernization process then taking shape. They praised the emergence of new social groups and their values as well as the country’s integration in the global economy. At the same time, they reinforced elements of the traditional order and official Catholicism.