This article aims to analyze the debate taking place among a group of Cape Verdean intellectuals concerning the linguistic situation in Cape Verde. Motivated by the problem of creating the image of a single and indivisible State in a context marked by linguistic plurality, this debate reveals how the question of language can act as an obstacle for developing countries in terms of attaining the social, political, economic and cultural organization represented by the Nation-State. Proposals to make Creole a standard and official language are examined in order to expose the interests of the group promoting this standpoint, as well as the possible consequences of this kind of linguistic politics, which despite its impact on Cape Verdean society, remain silenced in the analyzed discourses.
Cape Verde; Nation-State; Language; Power; Cape Verdean Creole
