English identity and Manguebeat in Brazil

ABSTRACT This study is an analysis of how English is conceptualized in Brazil's Manguebeat—a cultural movement that came to prominence in the 1990s and that became one of the most influential musical styles in the country ever since. The use of English in the manifesto that first presented Manguebeat and in two of the albums that epitomize the movement is examined through text mapping in combination with the discourse analysis theory put forth by Gee (2011). The results show that English in Manguebeat is positioned as a language that does not belong exclusively to an Inner Circle country. They also demonstrate how English influences cultural expression from the periphery of Brazil, positioning it as a mobile resource that can be deployed and recontextualized in the Brazilian context.