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Acta Scientiarum. Education
versión impresa ISSN 2178-5198versión On-line ISSN 2178-5201
Acta Educ. vol.46 no.1 Maringá 2024 Epub 01-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.4025/actascieduc.v46i1.60171
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
The teaching of language in the Imperial Court: study of 'Grammatica analytica e explicativa da lingua portuguesa', by Ortiz and Pardal (1981)
1Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Estrada do Caminho Velho, 333, 07252-312, Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brasil.
2Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil.
In order to contribute to the production of a history of Portuguese language teaching in Brazil and to understand the different aspects involved in the adoption and circulation of didactic devices for this teaching in the nineteenth century, this article focuses on the analysis of the book 'Grammatica analytica e explicativa da lingua Portuguesa', by José Ortiz and Candido Pardal. This book was officially adopted for use in primary schools in Rio de Janeiro between the 1870s and 1880s. Based on the contributions of the New Cultural History and the History of Linguistic Ideas, it was analyzed the textual configuration of this grammar, which is structured under the idea of grammar as the art of writing and speaking well, as the Greco-Latin model of philosophical and general basis. It was verified that the adoption of this grammar occurred with the total absence of pedagogical debate or methodological justifications that would explain the need to renew the materials that were in use. This makes it possible to interpret that its approval and consequent distribution was linked to political interests and the space of privilege and decision-making power occupied by one of its authors.
Keywords: Portuguese language teaching; grammar; José Ortiz; Candido Pardal; primary school
Com os objetivos de contribuir para a produção de uma história do ensino de língua portuguesa no Brasil e de compreender os diferentes aspectos envolvidos na adoção e circulação de dispositivos didáticos para esse ensino no século XIX, focaliza-se neste artigo a análise do livro ‘Grammatica analytica e explicativa da língua portugueza’, de José Ortiz e Candido Pardal, adotado oficialmente para uso nas escolas primárias do Rio de Janeiro entre as décadas de 1870 e 1880. Mediante as contribuições da Nova História Cultural e da História da Ideias Linguísticas, analisou-se a configuração textual dessa gramática, a qual se apresenta estruturada sob a ideia de gramática como arte de escrever e falar bem, tal como pressupunha o modelo greco-latino de base filosófica e geral. Verificou-se que a adoção dessa gramática se deu em meio à ausência total de debate pedagógico ou justificativas metodológicas que explicassem a necessidade de renovação dos materiais até então em uso, o que possibilita presumir que sua aprovação e consequente distribuição esteve ligada a interesses de natureza política e ao espaço de privilégio e poder de decisão que ocupava um de seus autores.
Palavras-chave: ensino de língua portuguesa; gramática; José Ortiz; Candido Pardal; ensino primário
Con el fin de contribuir a la historia de la enseñanza de la lengua portuguesa en Brasil y comprender los diferentes aspectos relacionados con la adopción y circulación de dispositivos didácticos para esta enseñanza en el siglo XIX, este artículo se centra en el análisis de ‘Grammatica analytica e explicativa da lingua portugueza’, por José Ortiz y Candido Pardal, adoptada oficialmente para su uso en las escuelas primarias de Río de Janeiro entre las décadas de 1870 y 1880. A partir de los aportes de la Nueva Historia Cultural y la Historia de las Ideas Lingüísticas, se analizó la configuración textual de esta gramática, estructurada en la idea de la gramática como arte de escribir y hablar bien, según el modelo grecolatino. Se constató que la adopción de esta gramática se produjo en medio de la ausencia total de debate pedagógico o justificaciones metodológicas que expliquen la necesidad de renovar los materiales hasta ahora en uso, lo que permite asumir que su aprobación y consecuente distribución estuvo ligada a intereses de naturaleza política y el espacio de privilegio y poder de decisión que ocupa uno de sus autores.
Palabras clave: enseñanza de la lengua portuguesa; gramática; José Ortiz; Candido Pardal; escuela primaria
Introduction
After the proclamation of Independence in 1822, Rio de Janeiro, as the seat of the Imperial government, came to enjoy important political, economic and cultural prestige, as well as massive demographic growth due to increased migration and immigration. In view of this, imperial leaders, doctors, hygienists and intellectuals of the 19th century began to point to the need to modernize the capital of the Empire, in order to transform and standardize the habits and customs of the heterogeneous population that began to occupy the city (Schueler, 2002).
To this end, in the years following the recognition of Independence by Portugal, the Imperial government of Brazil carried out a series of measures aimed at reorganizing the municipality that was the seat of the Court, with the aim of conquering its hegemony and enabling the construction of the desired nation-state project (Teixeira, 2008).
In all of these measures, public education was given an important place, given its "[...] responsibility for the formation of the people, and consequently for the good development of the Imperial State" (Teixeira, 2008, p. 5). The debate on the need to educate children became an agenda in Parliament, the press, associations and public conferences (Schueler, 2002), in order to problematize the paths to civilization, achieving progress and preserving the imperial order through the education of the people (Martinez, 1998).
To this end, in 1854, the then Minister and Secretary of State for the Affairs of the Empire, Luiz Pedreira de Couto Ferraz, approved Decree no. 1.331-A, of February 17, which established new regulations to reform primary and secondary education in the Municipality of Corte.
Among the various changes brought about by this decree, it was made compulsory for these schools to inspect the textbooks to be officially adopted, since these objects were the main instruments for schooling and promoting the civilization project of the 19th century. In light of the new legislation, the second half of the 19th century was marked by disputes and debates over whether or not to approve new books for use in primary education in the Court, one of which was the 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' (Analytical and explanatory grammar of the Portuguese language), by the doctor José Ortiz and the teacher Candido Matheus de Faria Pardal. At the end of the 19th century, this grammar joined the select list of books and compendiums approved for use in teaching the language in the Court's elementary school, replacing a grammar that had been used for more than two decades.
This is the context of this work, which aims to contribute to the production of a history of Portuguese language teaching in Brazil and to understand the different aspects involved in the adoption and circulation of didactic devices for this teaching in the 19th century. To do this, we are based on the theoretical assumptions of the New Cultural History, which believes that historiographical work is not a reconstruction of the past, but the production of a discourse (a writing) about an event situated in time, chosen by the historian as an event (Certeau, 1976).
From this point of view, the strand of Cultural History adopted here is that which "[...] has as its main objective to identify the way in which, in different places and at different times, a given social reality is constructed, thought about, given to be read". (Chartier, 1990, p. 16-17), which demands an attempt to move forward in relation to economic and social history (Chartier, 2009). To this end, we seek to:
[...] to make the [investigated] object appear in the tangle of its mediations and contradictions; to recover how this object was constituted, trying to reconstitute its raison d'être or appear to us according to social experience, instead of determining it in classifications and fragmented compartments. (Vieira, Peixoto, & Khoury, 1995, p. 10-11).
In view of the historical approach, this article focuses on the analysis of unpublished documentary sources, which function as a cultural unconscious and are therefore not innocuous (Le Goff, 2003, p. 538). They are, first and foremost:
[...] the result of a montage, conscious or unconscious, of the history, the era, the society that produced it, but also of the successive eras during which it continued to live, perhaps forgotten, during which it continued to be manipulated, albeit through silence.
In conjunction with this historical perspective, we also draw on the contributions of the History of Linguistic Ideas:
In the great contemporary game of interdisciplinary comparisons, it seems quite obvious, or rather natural, that linguistics and history should be confronted; in this science of the movement of peoples that history establishes, it would be strange if the science that studies this essential means of communication, languages, did not play its part. (Chevalier, 1976, p. 84).
The history of linguistic ideas comprises a metalinguistic reflection that allows us to understand the dissemination of knowledge based on the science of language, especially the grammatical tradition ( Auroux, 1989 , p. 12). Thus,
All knowledge is a historical reality, and its real mode of existence is not the ideal timelessness of the logical order of unfurling the true, but the ramified temporality of the everyday constitution of knowledge. Because it is limited, the act of knowing has, by definition, a temporal thickness, a horizon of retrospection. Knowledge (and the instances that make it work) does not destroy its past, as is often mistakenly believed; it organizes it, chooses it, forgets it, imagines it or idealizes it, just as it anticipates its future.
From the analytical point of view of the documentary source and the construction of an integibility about the past event focused on here, we are guided by the discursive and dialogical perspective of language, based on the analysis of what Mortatti (2000, p. 31, emphasis added) calls textual configuration. According to this author, the analysis of textual configuration seeks to "[...] construct a representation, based on the problematization of other representations constructed and taken as corpus, but which should not be confused with the object of investigation, since they are not 'data' and only speak when one knows how to interrogate them". To this end, this interpretative operation focuses on more than simply applying techniques:
[...] the thematic-contextual (what?) and structural-formal (how?) choices, projected by a certain subject (who?), who presents himself as the author of a discourse produced from a certain point of view and social place (from where?) and historical moment (when?), driven by certain needs (why?) and purposes (for what?), aiming at a certain effect on a certain type of reader (for whom?) and achieving a certain type of circulation, use and repercussion (for whom?).), driven by certain needs (why?) and purposes (for what), aiming for a certain effect on a certain type of reader (for whom?) and achieving a certain type of circulation, use and repercussion ( Mortatti, 2000 , p. 31).
The Couto Ferraz Reform, control over the circulation of books in the Court's schools and the grammar of Ortiz and Pardal
As mentioned, in 1854, with the introduction of Decree no. 1.331-A, of February 17, known as the 'Luiz Pedreira Coutto Ferraz Reform', among the various changes made to primary and secondary education in Rio de Janeiro, these schools were required to inspect the textbooks to be officially adopted. According to article 4 of this Decree, it was the responsibility of the Inspector General and the Board of Directors9 to review all the books that had been adopted in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro until then, correct them and, if necessary, replace them with new ones. As a result, according to article 56, from then on only materials approved and authorized by the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction of the Court could be officially accepted for use in Rio de Janeiro schools.
In view of these new regulations, the school books and compendiums in circulation or that would be produced had to conform to the definition of the new10 subjects determined for elementary primary education11 in the Court, as established in article 47 of the 1854 decree. These subjects included: "[...] moral and religious instruction [...]", "[...] reading and writing [...]", "[...] essential notions of grammar [...]" and "[...] systems of weights and measures of the municipality" (Brasil, 1854, s/p.). For girls' schools only, in addition to these, the subject of "[...] embroidery and needlework" should be added12 .
In addition to being aligned with the new organization of elementary education, the process of approving school books from 1854 onwards followed a specific rite, which included the preparation or revision of the books by the authors, evaluation of the originals by people appointed by the Board of Directors (usually 'suitable' teachers who were 'trusted' by the government and had a prominent role in Rio's elementary school) and the publication of the originals by the printers, publishers or bookshops of the time (Teixeira & Schueler, 2012 ). For the books that were duly approved after this process, their authors were paid a prize by the imperial government, as provided for in article 95 of the 1854 Decree.
In the case of some books and compendiums submitted for approval by the Board of Directors, "[...] when they were not immediately considered unsuitable for adoption by the schools, they received suggestions for changes, so that they could be adjusted to the desired pedagogical models [...] and thus [could] compete for the prizes mentioned in the regulations" (Teixeira, 2008, p. 62). With regard to these books, it was a type of conditional approval, and it was the responsibility of the authors to make the necessary corrections and adjustments in order to receive the award and the 'seal' of use from the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction of the Court. This was the case with 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa', by Ortiz and Pardal.
In 1872, in an ordinary session on August 3rd, the Board of Directors of the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction of the Court dealt with the 'critical judgment' of the examiners of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa', by Ortiz and Pardal, in order to point out "[....] the slight defects that it generally recognized existed in the compendium, so that it could be purged of them when printed for use by pupils in public primary schools" ( Brasil, 1872 , p. 62)13 .
Having been duly notified and the authors having accepted the adjustments indicated, 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' was officially approved by the Board of Directors at a session on September 24, 1872, when it was also decided that it should replace the grammar in use until then, written by Cyrillo Dilermando da Silveira:
Professors Dr. José Ortiz and Cândido Matheus de Faria Pardal accepted the ideas and made the changes recommended by the revising committee, the council considered the grammar of the Portuguese language, of which they are the authors, to be preferable, thus amended, to the compendium of grammar of the Portuguese language by Cyrillo Dilermando da Silveira, and decided that the imperial government should be represented accordingly, so that the first of the aforementioned compendiums should replace the second in the public primary schools of the municipality of the court. (Brasil, 1872, p. 64).
In view of this process, 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' had its 2nd revised edition published in 1873, by Livraria Nicolau Alves, and was immediately supplied in this re-edition to the elementary schools of the Court through a contract signed between the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction of the Court and the authors. After the 2nd edition, the 3rd edition was published in 1876, the 5th edition in 1884 and the 6th edition in 1888, all by Nicolau Alves/Alves e Cia Editores14 and all with reformulations and extensions.
About the book: the conceptual definitions of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' (Analytical and explanatory grammar of the Portuguese language)
Printed in hardback, small format, with pages varying between 100 and 150, depending on the edition, 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' starts from the definition that grammar is the 'art of speaking and writing correctly', subdividing the study of this 'art' into four parts: 'etymologia'; 'syntaxe'; 'ortographia'; and 'prosódia'. In this sense, Fávero and Molina (2006, p. 94) state: "[...] this is the same division found in grammarians of the previous century, such as Reis Lobato, and is a legacy of the Middle Ages, perhaps since Prisciano, a division that remained until the 16th century (Nebrija, João de Barros) or until the 18th and 19th centuries."
Still with regard to the definition of grammar presented in the book, Orlandi (2001, p. 61) explains that "[...] in this period, grammar is considered an art, in the continuity of the conceptualization coming from the Greco-Latin model [...] and ars is a translation from Greek, used in the sense of craft, skill. When the quadripartite division was made, this, also following the Greco-Latin model, reaffirmed its function: to teach how to speak and write correctly".
Etymology
The authors begin the first part - 'etymologia' - by stating that it is the part of grammar that teaches how to know and classify words.
They then classify words according to their formation into primitives and derivatives, and according to their nature into ten: noun, article, adjective, pronoun, verb, participle, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. This classification is very similar to that of other Brazilian grammars of the period.
It's important to point out here that the division into ten classes indicates two antagonistic facts: at the same time that it goes back to Aristotle, in his Metaphysics, with categorialism; it shows us modernity, because many scholars very much based on Latin did not consider either the article or the adjective or pronoun, inscribing them under the heading 'Name', scoring only eight etymological classes. However, antagonistically, he goes on to define 'noun' as "Substantive or 'name' is the word that signifies one or more entities [...]" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 5, emphasis added), although he highlights the classes already mentioned separately.
There are rules for determining the gender and plurals of this class, in line with the purpose of the book: to teach how to speak and write correctly, in other words, by establishing the appropriate prescriptions:
'Rules for forming the plural of names'
49. The plural of names ending in a vowel or n is formed by adding an s to the singular.
E.g. 'father-father, regimen-regimens'.
(Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 11, emphasis added).
This is followed by the 'article', which is defined in a rather laconic way by the authors: "Article is the word that precedes names to announce that they are used in a specific sense [...]" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 13); and they only list 'a' and 'o'. However, they point out that the article 'el' is only used before the word 'king', based, then, on Spanish grammar and meeting the need of the context: we were a country with an imperial regime, and knowing how to address the Monarch correctly was extremely important.
Next up is the 'adjective'. For the authors, this is the class that is added to or refers to a name to signify a quality or circumstance. Adjectives are divided into qualifiers and determiners.
Fávero and Molina (2006) explain that the distinction between nouns and adjectives comes from medieval grammar, since Priscian used the term adjectivum in the qualificative sense, without, however, considering it an independent class.
Based on the ideal of teaching how to speak and write the Portuguese language, we follow rules on how to form the plural, how to form the synthetic absolute superlative, among others.
It's worth noting that the authors conceive of the determinative adjective in the same way as the class of Pronouns and Numerals today: "Determinative adjectives are divided into 'numerical', 'possessive', 'demonstrative', 'relative' and 'indefinite'" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 22, emphasis added).
After defining the adjective, the authors present the 'pronouns'. For them, this class is that which "[...] is ordinarily put in the place of the name [...]" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 27), classifying them as follows: "Pronouns are divided into 'personal', 'possessive', 'demonstrative', 'relative' and 'indefinite'" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 27, emphasis added).
Making the determinative adjectives coincide, however: as an adjective, consider 'of me', 'of you', 'of you', 'of us'; and, as pronouns, 'my', 'your', 'yours', 'ours'.
Then comes the 'verb' class. Following in Port-Royal's footsteps, Pardal and Ortiz explain that a verb is "[...] a word that affirms some action [...]" and add "[...] a quality or circumstance that always or at a certain time belongs to a subject [...]" (Pardal & Ortiz, 1884, p. 33), now following Aristotle, thus showing us different affiliations (but which seem complementary) for the same category.
Cavalieri (2014, p. 52) points out that: "In Brazil, certainly, the parameters of philosophical grammar were extremely attenuated by the lack of doctrinal perspective of our grammarians, who were more interested in creating normative manuals with rules of good speech." This was exactly the authors' proposal: to produce a school compendium with utilitarian purposes for a society made up of a large mass of illiterate people who were beginning to identify themselves as a nation.
Continuing the study of etymology, the authors deal with the 'Subject', 'Attribute' and 'Complement', inserting what we now understand to be part of syntax, and return to the verb, clarifying: "Verbs are divided into 'substantive verb and adjective or attributive verb'" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 38, emphasis added).
Again, the bipartite view of this class: the noun verb is the one that, for them, doesn't point to any attribute and there are two: to be (like the rationalists) and to be. Attributive verbs are divided into "[...] transitive or active, intransitive or neutral, and passive" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 39). They explain that: "An adjective or attributive verb is the one that includes an attribute and the noun verb" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 39). This shows their attachment to Latin grammar.
They emphasize three tenses: present, past and future and five moods: indicative, conditional, imperative, conjunctive or subjunctive and infinitive or infinite. Like our current scholars, they bring up the three conjugations and, in a note, point out that some want the fourth and that verbs in -or belong to it.
In the note they also insert the following 'Warning':
All regular verbs always take the endings of the conjugation to which they belong. To conjugate any regular verb, the student will take the endings of the verbs we are going to conjugate as a model, and place them before the roots of the verb they want to conjugate. To make this work easier, the endings of the model verbs are separated from the roots by a connecting stripe (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 48).
In keeping with the task of teaching how to speak and write correctly, the authors present numerous conjugations, which should be memorized and given to the teacher. The authors devote more than 30 pages to this type of word, showing us their attachment to tradition. Let's remember Plutarch when he says that until the verb is pronounced, nothing has been said.
After the verb, the class of 'participle' is introduced, explaining that it is the part of the word that belongs to both the verb and the adjective, dividing them into present and past, as in Latin grammar.
Next, they deal with 'adverb', 'preposition' and 'conjunction'. In relation to these classes, they are very close to the definitions found today. The concept of 'interjection' is relevant: "It is an invariable word that summarizes one or more sentences. E.g. Shut up! Which means: shut up" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 75).
The authors conclude their study of etymology with logical analysis models and proposals for numerous analysis exercises, as in the example below:
EXERCISE 2
PEDRO IS STUDYING THE LESSON OF FRANCEZ
Grammatical analysis
Peter is a masculine singular first name
está is an irregular verb of the 1st conjugation; it is expressed in the 3rd person singular of the present tense
estudando is the present participle of the adjective or attributive verb estudar, regular first conjugation
a is a feminine singular article
lesson is a singular feminine common noun
of preposition
Francez is a singular masculine virtual proper noun
Analyse logica (simplified according to paragraphs 131 to 149).
The subject of this sentence is Pedro; the verb is 'está'; the attribute is estudando; the direct complement of estudando is lição; the restrictive complement of lição is de Francez.
(Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 77-78, emphasis added).
Syntax
With regard to the second part - 'syntaxe' -, the authors begin by presenting the following definition: syntax is the part of grammar that teaches how to compose the sentence and the grammatical period, so that there are two periods - simple and compound periods - in line with today's grammars.
By prayer, following Port-Royal's model, they propose: "Prayer is the judgment or thought expressed by means of a subject, a verb and an attribute, with or without complements" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 108). They add that a sentence is also called a proposition.
It is worth remembering that Arnauld and Lancelot (1992, p. 28, emphasis added) point out:
All philosophers teach that there are three operations in our mind: CONCEIVING, JUDGING and RACIOCINATING (...) CONCEIVING is no more than a simple glance at things (...) JUDGING is affirming that a thing we have conceived is or is not such [...] RACIOCINATING is making use of two judgments to produce a third [...] The judgment we make about things, as when I say; 'The earth is round' is called a PROPOSITION.
Still based on the rationalists, the authors explain: "When words are missing from a sentence, they are taken from another sentence of the same kind, and if there are no words, they are supplied by rules or reasoning" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 108).
They go on to classify clauses as absolute, accessory incidents, restrictive and explanatory (or circumstantial). They propose a further classification into full, elliptical, pleonastic, inverse and implicit.
This is followed by the partitioning of the 'subject' into simple and compound; and once again they deal with the 'verb', reaffirming: "The verb of a sentence is always the noun verb, sometimes separated from the attribute, sometimes incorporated into it in adjective verbs" (Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 113), confirming their affiliations with rationalist grammar.
Then it's the turn of the attribute and the complement, the appositive and the vocative. This is followed by notions of 'Natural and Figurative Syntax', offering rules of agreement and regency, taking into account the aim: to teach how to write and speak the Portuguese language correctly.
Reaffirming the purpose of the work, he brings up 'Language Vices'.
They end this chapter with models of syntactic or logical analysis, as in the example below:
God, who is just, rewards those who do not stray from the path of virtue.
It is a compound sentence because it consists of more than one clause. It consists of three clauses: the first is 'God rewards them'; the second is 'who is just'; the third is 'who do not deviate from the path of virtue'.
The first sentence [...] is principal, because it is not the subject or complement of another sentence, but has others that complement it - It is complete, because it has all the words that should make it up. - It's not inverse, because it doesn't have any words outside of their places.
The subject is 'God', simple because it consists of a single word signifying a single entity; complex because it has the complement 'who is just'. - The v. is 'rewards', agreeing in number and person with its subject and including in itself the verb 'is' or 'is', and the attr. 'rewarding'. - The attr. is 'rewarding', simple because it consists of a single quality belonging to a subject; complex because it has the compl. 'those who do not stray from the path of virtue'.
The second clause [...] is accessory explanatory or circumstantial, because it states the circumstance called 'apposition', and because it can be removed from the sentence without altering or falsifying the meaning of those that remain.
[...]
The third clause [...] is restrictive determinative, because it serves as a restrictive complement to another one; and because it cannot be removed from the sentence without altering the meaning of the one that remains. [...]
(Ortiz & Pardal, 1884, p. 134-135, emphasis added).
Spelling and prosody
The third part, on 'orthography', is the part of the grammar designed to teach how to write words, making correct use of letters, punctuation marks and accents. The orthographic rules, the rules for using capital letters, the rules for separating syllables, figures of speech, the use of punctuation marks and accents are presented.
Then, in the fourth and final part, we look at 'prosody', defined as 'the part of grammar that teaches how to pronounce words well'. To this end, aspects relating to the sound value of syllables are explored, in order to teach how to count and identify the value they have in poetic texts.
Finally, it should be noted that the sections on orthography and prosody do not contain any exercise or analysis models, as in the previous cases. There are only a few examples in reference to the concepts explored on 'orthography' and 'prosody'.
The teaching of grammar and Christian morality
When analyzing the models of analysis and exercises presented for teaching 'etymology' and 'syntax', it can be seen that most of the prayers used seek to reinforce a religious intention, in line with the principles that governed elementary primary education established since 1854.
According to Decree No. 1331-A, moral and religious instruction was the first subject of primary education in public schools, since the Imperial government was avowedly Catholic Christian. For this reason, the only books that did not need to be approved by the Inspector General and the Board of Directors were those intended for religious instruction, as they were determined by the Diocesan Bishop.
Also as established in this decree, teachers who, among other things, offended Catholic Christian morals could not be appointed to public office. Thus, those who did not profess this faith had to have a priest in their educational establishments, for the communion of the students.
Although religious morality comprised specific teaching in nineteenth-century elementary school, what can be seen in 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' is the search for harmony with the faith established as official by the Imperial government, possibly also as a way of generating greater acceptability for those responsible for evaluating its use in the official schools of the Court.
Among the sentences analyzed, there are some that make direct reference to Catholic morality, such as: 'God is just'; 'To glory in a fault is to aggravate it'; 'Cain killed Abel or Abel'; 'Eat with Moderation'; 'I repent of sin'; 'Peter is the most modest of men'. In this sense, associated with grammar teaching, the grammar under analysis presupposed a type of reinforcement of teachings aimed at Christian moral and religious formation, with direct reference to biblical content defended and assumed by the crown.
This aspect indicates that 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' was aligned with the Imperial Government's strategy of imposing certain 'uses' of the knowledge transmitted by the school, through relations of force that made it possible to acculturate and conform the target public (Certeau, 2014). Thus, although it was intended to teach the language, this grammar combined its instructive project with the civilizing ideal of the Imperial Court, translating certain social and cultural representations into linguistic lessons, which were intended to be inculcated in children from an early age (Chartier, 1990).
From the renovating intent to the effective conservative sense: the seal for the use of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' (Analytical and explanatory grammar of the Portuguese language)
Another important aspect to note regarding the approval and adoption of Ortiz and Pardal's grammar in the schools of the Imperial Court is that, although the data from the Board of Directors indicates that it was only recommended in September 1872, in the 'Report of the works that were read and the oral debate that took place at the pedagogical conferences', a document produced on February 4, 1873, there is information that this compendium had already been in use in the schools of the capital of the Empire since January 1873.
In this document, made up of speeches by teachers who took part in the Pedagogical Conferences15 in 1873, all of them mention Ortiz and Pardal's 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' (Analytical and explanatory grammar of the Portuguese language) as the book adopted in the Court's schools for teaching the language. At the end of these speeches, in the 'Resumo e considerações geraes' (Summary and general considerations), there is the information that up until that moment Ortiz and Pardal's grammar had not been the subject of any complaints, in order to "[...] amply satisfy the needs of teaching" ( Brasil, 1873 , p. 28).
Although this document contains an assessment of the suitability of Ortiz and Pardal's grammar for elementary school teaching in Corte, the report on the 'Compendios e Materiais do Ensino' (Teaching Compendiums and Materials), produced in 1874, criticizes it, especially for its length and the method that was not suitable for children. This report explains the dissatisfaction expressed by teachers at the time, who considered 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' to be suitable only for the 7th and 8th grades. For them, the grammars of Cyrillo Dilermando and Polycarpo16 were preferable for the initial classes.
This observation was recorded in the report 'Compendios e Materiais do Ensino' (Teaching Compendiums and Materials) in the midst of a detailed survey carried out by the visiting commission of public schools and private primary and secondary education establishments in the Court, a commission appointed by the General Inspector of Instruction, on the situation of each subject provided for in the 1854 Decree. When looking at the general context of teaching in Rio's schools, the commission pointed out in its report that:
In general, teachers give some subjects a breadth that they shouldn't have, and others almost none at all [...] The methods are not uniform; the partial processes also differ; in short, there is no homogeneity in the teaching of the various subjects, against the legal precept, so that a student who moves from one school to another finds different teaching methods, which makes it an embarrassment for him, and he will argue the difficulty with which he naturally struggles ( Martins, 1874 , p. 40).
Thus, specifically with regard to the teaching of grammar, the commission pointed out in its report that it had been 'the most repulsive study', when it should have been one of the most "[...] lively and enjoyable" (Brasil, 1874, p. 43). Although grammar played an essential and indispensable role in the 'development of intelligence', the commission assessed that the school taught it purely by memorizing rules, without explanations that would break the 'monotony of sterile recitation'. The committee's rapporteur explains that: "Studying like this is not learning, accumulating precepts without application is overloading the memory to no avail. This study needs complete reform, especially in girls' schools where, so to speak, it does not exist" (Martins, 1874, p. 43).
In view of this scenario, the commission pointed out a direction for the teaching of grammar, explaining that:
The mission of the elementary school is not to teach and delve into grammatical difficulties; its object is limited to getting children to speak correctly, which is achieved, not by means of analyses and complicated rules, but by practical means, and simple definitions and rules, which the children, being well directed, will discover and formulate for themselves (Martins, 1874, p. 44).
For this reason, the commission felt that the teaching of grammar should be based on reading practices, which should be the basis of all teaching:
Reading can serve as a basis for the study of grammar: After reading a passage and explaining it properly, the teacher will draw the pupils' attention to the various parts of speech contained in that passage, and show the function of each one; then he will make the application that his experience and knowledge indicate to him, and he will finish the lesson by having the pupils explain, one by one, the subject they have just read, taking the opportunity to correct any defects in diction, grammar and construction that they may have committed (Martins, 1874, p. 44).
As can be seen, although the problem of teaching grammar was broader and went beyond the issue of the compendiums adopted, it is worth noting that the complimentary assessment of Ortiz and Pardal's grammar recorded in the report of the Pedagogical Conferences of 1873, despite the criticism of the teachers, may be related to the "[....] relations of forces that were made possible [...]" (Certeau, 2014 , p. 93) by the position of 'power' and 'will' occupied by Candido Matheus de Faria Pardal in the Court administration.
A teacher at the Externato do Imperial Colégio de Pedro II since 1864, in 1872, according to Teixeira (2008), Pardal was appointed by the City Council to head the schools it had created. Between 1872 and 1873, he was also appointed by the Inspectorate General as chairman of the preparatory language exams, as well as chairing and taking part in three sessions of the Pedagogical Conferences in 1873.
Regarding these Conferences, Teixeira (2008) explains that for one of them, referring to the point about methods and effectiveness of teaching first letters, Pardal did extensive work, which resulted in a proposal for organizing the subjects of elementary primary education. In this proposal, Pardal proposed the teaching of grammar in the third year, replacing explicit reading and writing content. Thus, based on the simultaneous teaching method, he proposed organizing the work around the teaching of grammar divided into 12 months, with the following schedule:
GRAMMAR
1st class. - Etymology, nouns or names, their properties, graphs, types, numbers and affixes; conjugation of auxiliary verbs.
2nd class. - Articles, adjectives, their degrees of meaning, 1st conjugation of auxiliary verbs.
3rd class. - Pronouns, 2nd conjugation of auxiliary verbs, conjugation of irregular verbs from the 1st conjugation, noting the irregular tenses and persons.
4th grade. -Verb, its grammatical subject attribute, complement and its divisions, 1st conjugation of irregular verbs.
5th grade. - Participles, adverbs, prepositions, conjugations and interjections, 1st conjugation of irregular verbs, noting which tenses and persons are irregular.
6th grade. - Recap of the previous five classes.
7th grade. - Grammatical analysis, exercise book, 2nd conjugation of irregular verbs, noting which tenses and persons are irregular.
8th grade. - Grammar analysis, exercises in notebooks, 2nd conjugation of irregular verbs.
9th grade. - Syntax and its divisions; conjugation of 3rd conjugation irregular verbs.
10th grade. - Syntax analysis, exercises in notebooks, 3rd conjugation of irregular verbs.
11th grade. -Syntax analysis in classics, orthography, conjugation of 1st conjugation irregular verbs.
Grade 12. - General review. - Exams.
(Pardal, 1873, p. 7).
The data presented on the teaching of grammar in the Court shows that the adoption of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' as the official compendium for this teaching took place within a complex network of sociabilities (Sirineli, 1986) that involved, to a certain extent, Pardal's prestige within the scope of elementary education in Rio de Janeiro. In this way, from a movement of 'inclusions' and "[...] exclusions, marked by the establishment of loyalties and friendships (inclusions) in the administrative sphere and promoting splits and debates in the pedagogical sphere, Padal made use of his privileged place in this 'narrow little world', making his intellectual production possible and accessible" (Sirinelli, 1986, p. 248-249, emphasis added).
Thus, although this grammar replaced that of Cyrilo Dilermando, which had been in use for more than two decades, there were no innovations or shifts in its linguistic proposal in relation to the perspective of general and philosophical grammar. On the contrary, the understanding of grammar as the art of teaching how to speak and write well, following logical principles that had already been widely known, remains.
As a result, in addition to not corresponding to a type of renewal in the teaching of grammar, which could justify the change established by the Board of Directors of Public Instruction, the grammar of Ortiz and Pardal was considered by teachers to be unsuitable and inaccessible to children in the first classes, creating difficulties and problems in the teaching of the language.
Final considerations
As different studies in the fields of the History of Education and Portuguese language teaching have pointed out (Razzini, 2000; Teixeira, 2008; Bittencourt, 2008; Batista & Galvão, 2009; Tambara, 2012), books and compendiums have over time achieved the position of one of the most important devices for disseminating values and implementing educational and national projects. For this reason, they correspond to important objects of material culture, which preserve representations of society in the context in which they were produced or which project it, as their authors and the forces that regulated their production wished (Chartier, 1990). With this in mind, in the Brazilian case, the process of evaluating, approving, recommending and adopting these materials was an effective field of disputes over the conquest of political space and the implementation of ideals of society, through the adoption of strategies to transmit values and knowledge responsible for building a unity of the people (Certeau, 2014), as well as the mobilization of sociability networks in favour of approving or not approving these books (Sirinelli, 1986).
It was no different in the case of the 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa'. As we can see in the process of approving and recommending this grammar, there was a kind of pre-announced 'frisson' about its quality and acceptance, but what we actually see is the maintenance of the tradition that had existed until then in language teaching, of centralizing the study of grammatical rules through the logic of the philosophical and general model, as presupposed by Port-Royal.
Ortiz and Pardal's grammar maintain the perspective of teaching language as the art of speaking and writing correctly, based on defining concepts and memorizing rules by studying examples of syntactic and etymological analysis. Associated with this, Catholic Christian values are emphasized, in line with the confessional character established by the Court for official schools.
From this point of view, as well as not corresponding to an effective change in what was proposed for language teaching, the adoption of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' did not present any pedagogical justification. On the contrary, its adoption is recorded in official documents without any motivation, promoting the replacement of Cyrillo Dilermando's grammar immediately.
This aspect makes it possible to understand that this exchange was possibly due to the important spaces of sociability that Pardal occupied in the administration of Public Instruction in the Court, including that of member of the Board of Directors of the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction, responsible for reviewing compendiums and teaching materials. In other words, the imposition of the use of 'Grammática analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa' was much more associated with the prestige of one of its authors than with pedagogical demands or the need to revise language teaching. Not by chance, despite what the Board of Directors itself said, this grammar was widely criticized by teachers for its poor suitability for teaching language in the first classes of elementary school.
Despite this, Ortiz and Pardal's grammar remained in use for more than a decade, when the teaching of grammar began to be revitalized by other grammars, such as Júlio Ribeiro's, but also when primary education in the Court began to be remodeled.
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9The function of the Board of Directors of the General Inspectorate of Primary and Secondary Instruction of the Court was to inspect public and private educational establishments in Rio de Janeiro, in particular: to examine the best practical teaching methods and systems; to designate and approve books and compendiums; to create new subjects; to define the system and subject matter of examinations; to deal with literary matters of interest to primary and secondary instruction; and to judge disciplinary infractions ( Brasil, 1854 , art. 11). Because of this competence, the Board of Directors was made up of the Inspector General, the Rector of the Imperial College of Pedro II, two public teachers and a private teacher of "[...] distinguished practice" (Brasil, 1854, art. 8).
10Prior to Decree No. 1.331-A, of February 17, 1854, the General Assembly of the Empire enacted the Law of October 15, 1827, which established in Article 6 the knowledge to be taught in primary education at the Imperial Court. They were: "[...] reading, writing the four operations of arithmetic, practice of fractions, decimals and proportions, the most general nations of practical geometry, the grammar of the national language, and the principles of Christian morality and the doctrine of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic religion, proportionate to the comprehension of children; preferring for readings the Constitution of the Empire and the History of Brazil" ( Brasil, 1827 , p. 71).
11According to Article 48 of Decree no. 1.331-A, of February 17, 1854, primary education in the municipality of Corte was divided into two classes: elementary education, called 'first grade schools', and higher primary education, called 'second grade schools'. According to Teixeira and Schueler (2012), elementary schools were the only ones actually implemented in the Court.
12In addition to these elementary subjects, Decree no. 1.331-A, of February 17, 1854, provided for the addition of the following subjects, as decided by the Inspector General and/or the Board of Directors: 'development of arithmetic and its practical applications', 'explained reading of the Gospels and news of sacred history', 'elements of history and geography, especially of Brazil', 'principles of the physical sciences and natural history applicable to the uses of life', 'elementary geometry', 'surveying', 'lienar drawing', notions of music and singing exercises, 'gymnastics' and 'system of weights and measures of the Provinces of the Empire and of the Nations with relations with Brazil'.
13Here, in all other quotations, we have kept the spelling according to what appears in the documentary sources.
15The Pedagogical Conferences, as provided for in Article 76 of Decree no. 1.331-A, of February 17, 1854, consisted of meetings held by public teachers to confer on topics such as the internal regulations of schools, teaching methods, systems of rewards and punishments, and presentations on the reading of works studied. These conferences had to be public and invited members of the Board of Directors.
16In the 'Compendios e Materiais do Ensino' report, there is no information to identify Polycarpo's grammar. Despite this, it is presumed to be Polycarpo Warke's 'Compendio de Grammatica Portugueza para uso das aulas', published in Lisbon in 1851.
22Note: The authors worked together in proposing the article, analyzing the data, writing the final text and approving the version for publication
1 O Conselho Diretor da Inspetoria Geral da Instrução Primária e Secundária da Corte tinha como função inspecionar os estabelecimentos públicos e particulares de ensino do Rio de Janeiro, especialmente: examinar os melhores métodos e sistemas práticos de ensino; designar e aprovar livros e compêndios; criar novas cadeiras; definir o sistema e a matéria dos exames; tratar dos assuntos literários que interessam à instrução primária e secundária; e julgar infrações disciplinares (Brasil, 1854, art. 11). Em função dessa competência, o Conselho Diretor era composto pelo Inspetor Geral, pelo Reitor do Imperial Colégio de Pedro II, por dois professores públicos e por um professor particular de “[...] distinguido exercício” (Brasil, 1854, art. 8º).
2Anteriormente ao Decreto nº 1.331-A, de 17 de fevereiro de 1854, foi promulgada pela Assembleia Geral do Império a Lei de 15 de outubro de 1827, que estabeleceu em seu artigo 6º os saberes a serem ensinados no ensino primário da Corte Imperial. Eram eles: “[...] ler, escrever as quatro operações de arithmetica, pratica de quebrados, decimaes e proporções, as nações mais geraes de geometria pratica, a grammatica da lingua nacional, e os principios de moral chritã e da doutrina da religião catholica e apostolica romana, proporcionados á comprehensão dos meninos; preferindo para as leituras a Constituição do Imperio e a Historia do Brazil” (Brasil, 1827, p. 71).
3De acordo com o Artigo 48 do Decreto nº. 1.331-A, de 17 de fevereiro de 1854, o ensino primário no município da Corte era dividido em duas classes: uma instrução elementar, denominada ‘escolas do primeiro gráo’, e uma instrução primária superior, denominação de ‘escolas do segundo gráo’. De acordo com Teixeira e Schueler (2012), as escolas primárias elementares foram as únicas, de fato, implementadas na Corte.
4A essas matérias elementares, o Decreto nº. 1.331-A, de 17 de fevereiro de 1854 previa o acréscimo das seguintes matérias, conforme decisão do Inspetor Geral e/ou do Conselho Diretor, ‘desenvolvimento da arithmetica e suas applicações praticas’, ‘leitura explicada dos Evangelhos e noticia da historia sagrada’, ‘elementos de historia e geographia, principalmente do Brasil’, ‘principios das sciencias physicas e da historia natural applicaveis aos usos da vida’, ‘geometria elementar’, ‘agrimensura’, ‘desenho lienar’, noções de musica e exercicios de canto, ‘gymnastica’ e ‘systema de pesos e medidas das Províncias do Império e das Nações com relações com o Brasil’.
5Aqui em todas as demais citações, mantivemos a ortografia de acordo com o que se apresenta nas fontes documentais.
7As Conferências Pedagógicas, conforme previsto no Art. 76 do Decreto nº. 1.331-A, de 17 de fevereiro de 1854, consistiram em reuniões realizadas por professores públicos, a fim de que esses conferenciassem sobre temas, como: regimento interno das escolas, métodos de ensino, sistemas de recompensas e punições e exposição sobre a leitura de obras estudadas. Nessas Conferências deviam ser públicas e ter como convidados os membros do Conselho Diretor.
Received: July 19, 2021; Accepted: March 14, 2022
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