ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this article is to contribute to the already advanced research in Brazil regarding the intuitive method. We examine two books cited by Ruy Barbosa in his 1882 Opinion about primary education in the Municipality of Corte: Illustrated lessons in our language; or how to speak and write correctly. Designed to teach English grammar, without technicalities, by George Payn Quackenbos, recommended by Barbosa as an antidote to Grammatica analytica e explicativa da língua portuguesa (Analytical and explanatory grammar of the Portuguese language), by José Ortiz and Candido Pardal, in circulation in the 1870s and 1880s, especially in the elementary school of Rio de Janeiro. About Grammatica analytica (Analytical Grammar), we highlight its organization based on the concept of grammar as the art of writing and speaking well, which denotes its affiliation to the general and philosophical Greco-Latin model, therefore, its disagreement with the scientific renovation that was occurring in Linguistics in the 19th century. For contextualized presentation of the Illustrated lessons... - and considering that its author has not yet gained studies in Brazil on the teaching of grammar, composition and adjacent areas, and on the intuitive method -, the article situates this book in relation to Quackenbos' other publications, as well as his intellectual roots in the Scottish "enlightenment" and his declared adherence to the object lessons. Thus, we can verify that Ruy Barbosa's criticism against the linguistic conservatism present in the Court's Primary Instruction is reasonably consistent and up-to-date in relation to the most recent studies that provide the basis for new, so-called modern, pedagogical proposals.
Keywords:
George Payn Quackenbos; intuitive method; Ruy Barbosa; grammar; Portuguese language
Thumbnail
Source: