LANGUAGE MEANS OF CONSTRUCTION OF COLLECTIVE IDENTITY ON THE BACKGROUND OF CULTURAL TRAUMA IN LATIN AMERICAN NARRATIVES ABOUT THE CONQUEST

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of identifying linguistic means of constructing collective identity against the background of cultural trauma in Latin American narratives about the conquest. The relevance of the study is due to the recent increase in anti-Spanish sentiments, actively replicated in the media of Latin American countries, as well as the need to study the mechanisms of formation of collective identity, often used for the purposes of political and economic manipulation and inciting interethnic confl icts. The study is characterized by scientifi c novelty due to its interdisciplinary methodological approach, which involves conducting narrative analysis to study the historical and social events of the conquest as a traumatic event, which are transmitted through the narratives of representatives of Latin American linguistic culture and strengthen their sense of belonging to a “non-Spanish” social group. The purpose of the study is to identify the linguistic mechanisms of collective identity formation in the narratives of Spanish speakers from Latin America. Narrative video interviews with Latin American respondents with a total duration of 61 minutes are used as material for analysis. The work was carried out using the method of narrative video interviews and narrative analysis of the linguistic representation of cultural trauma. The results of the narrative analysis show that the collective identity of Latin Americans against the backdrop of the conquest as a cultural trauma is formed at the emotional, cognitive and linguistic levels. At the emotional level, individuals are united by the common emotions of anger, sadness, grief and regret. At the linguistic level, the opposition “own” – “strange” is updated in the representation of Latin American and Spanish linguistic cultures. The cognitive level forms new basic elements of culture: the value of freedom, brotherhood and unity of the Latin American nations, a special worldview and attitude that distinguishes Latin Americans into a separate group that emerged as a result of mixing Spanish culture with the traditions and customs of the indigenous peoples of Latin America. Anti-Spanish cultural guidelines strengthen the process of reconstructing Latin American collective identity, are consolidated in the cultural memory of the people and are transmitted in the form of master narratives that convey the traumatic experience of the Spanish colonization’s victims. It is promising to explore non-verbal and prosodic means of constructing collective identity using Elan and Praat software.