Portuguese missionary linguistics: linguistic thought and grammatical theory in Luso-Oriental works of the seventeeth century

Tlie policy of the expansion and diffusion of Portuguese: in parallel with tlie precept of tlie Portuguese language, tliere was the learning of the languages of discovered lands. Firstly, it was an attempt to apostolise the mother tongue, and later, once gone tlie psychological era of the Cmsades, it was a valued activity per se, within the scope of tlie Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries' activities. Thus begun a process of grammatical disciplining of non-European languages. Setting out in the Pomguese Renaissance with a lexicography-type approacli, tilis process \vas consolidated in the 17Ih century, a decisive mnment in the elaboration of arts and grammars, of dictionaries and vocabularies of Far East and Ainerindian languages, writteii in both Portuguese and Latin.


Introduction
When, in 1492, Antonio de Nebrija fonnulated the famous topic of linguistic expansionisin "Siempre la lengua fue compañera del imperio," ['Language has always been the coinpanion of the empire'], so desired by the Catholic kings, tlie Portuguese Royal Court of the time harboured identical preoccupations.This, in turn influenced a policy of the expansion and diffusion of Portuguesea policy that, from the reign of Dom Joao 11 (1481-1495) onwards, was taken to Africa and to Asia, before arriving in America.In parallel with this precept of the Portuguese language, fed by the hegemony of Latin and by European pro-vernacularisin, a second front existed in the overseas policy of Portugal: the learning of the languages of discovered lands.Firstly, it was an atteinpt to apostolise the mother tongue, and later, once gone the psychological era of the Crusades, it was a valued activity per.se, within the scope of the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries' activities.
Thus begun a process of grammatical disciplining of non-European languages.Setting out in the Portuguese Renaissance with a lexicography-type approach, tliis process was consolidated in the 17Ih century, a decisive moment in tlie elahoratiou of arts and grammars, of dictionaries and vocahularies of Far East and Amerindian languages, written in both Portuguese and Latin.As is widely-known, José de Anchieta's grammar of Tupi, Arte de grainmatica da Iingoa rnais z~sada na cosfa do Brasil, and a dictionary, the famous trilingual Dictionarivri~ Iafino lvsifanicvin, a c iaponicvm, are the first to be published in 1595.However, from tlien onwards, the flow of publications linking the erudite and European languages with the 'exotic' languages, sliifted froni East to West, which were Iiistorically, culturally and linguistically two completely different areas of Portuguese missionary activiq.This differential can be evaluated in tenns of tlie publishing panorama: in the same century grammars and dictionaries of Japanese, Chinese, Annamite, Tamil and Konkani, were published wliilst Portuguese America merely brought forth Tupi and Kiriri'.Leaving aside the linguistic missionising of Brazil, tlie purpose of this paper is to analyse aspects of a grammar and lexicography witliin Luso-Oriental linguistic activity, with notes on the efforts of tlie Portuguese adininistration to divulge the languages of Japan and China.

Portuguese missionary linguistics
Various sources of 1 6 ' ~ century Portuguese history have shown the beginning of a policy of exporting printed works intended to spt-ead the Portuguese language in Africa and particularly in tlie East, which was one of the major concerns for king Dom Manuel 1 (1495-1521).Reading manuals (called carfilhas2) and Christian doctrine books (namely catechisms) were sent to the Congo and to Cochiu right at tlie beginning of the 1 6 ' ~ century, as part of a Colonial Empire building programme, inspired by the above mentioned Nebrija's theine.There was also a need -established by the preceptorate of the Portuguese Language-to lean Eastem languages, as a means to improve communication and Iience teaching, along with that conventional policy of faith and Empire dissemination.On tlie subject of communication, it fe11 on the already Cluistianised and literate natives, as well as on ' 11 is noteworthy that printing, whicli only arrived in Braiil in tlie 19th Century, was present in Portuguese India (Coa) from 1556 onwards.About tliree decades later, Jesuit missionaries took European printing to Maca", and in 1590 it moved on lo Jupan, where it was "sed in Ainakusa ond Nagasaki.
foreign latiguages experts, tlie task of ro!lgi,es or interpreters3 wlien rnediatirig tlie first contact.Tlie need for iiiterpreters coupled with news froin tlie missionaries, regarding the powerful ineans of evangelisation througli the languages of the discovered laiids led Portuguese educational policy towards a graiiimatical descriptiou of the Asian Lariguages, as being 'copious aiid abundant iii v~cabulary'~.In tlie area of Iberian rnissionisation, tliis process of gramiiiatisatioti of non-European languages progressed simultaneously with tlie first description of the two vernacnlars of tlie peninsular (Castilian atid Portuguese).Iii neiglibouring Spain, the publicatioii of Nebrija's graminar and the discovery of Ainerica by Cliristoplier Coluinbus in 1492 catalysed tlie onward inarcli of linguistic codirig in the new Americati world.As for Pomigal, tlie writers of the two first Portuguese language graiiimars, published in 1536' and in 15406, respectively, were tlie first to apportioii lexicograpliical inclitsions to tlie Orieiital linguistic group.
The following clironology of Iiistoriograpliical cycles may be established from a diacbronic perspective: l.The first approaches to lexicography, cotiteiiiporaneous to narratives and travel accounts7, which froin early lbth century fed Westem imagination for the niystery of Sinic scripts were introduced by Renaissance graintnars.
2. Simultaneously, gramiiiatical descriptions of the languages of India and China bore witness to tlie linguistic activily of tlie first iiiissionaries.Pedagogical tools sucli as catecliisms and cartill~as, such as the Cartillra e 1 1 1 Tarrrul e Porlr1g116s (Lisbon, 1554), written by three Malabar are typical of tliis period.Tliis cartillza is a good exatnple of tlie metliodological strategy used in tliese didactic inanuals: besides the bilingualisuiin tliis case, Tainil and Portugueseallowing bilateral linguistic leaming, the speecli is presented as a questionnaire between inaster and disciple, aiming atan audience not yet initiated in tlie precepts of Cliristian rnorality.
3. Lastly, the 17th century witnessed the turning point in missionary linguistic production in the Portugnese Far East.Besides Konkani, Japanese seized the attention of Jesuits until the end of the Philippine Dynasty (1640), when Japan shut off its contact with Portugal (it is worth noting that al1 the Luso-Nipponese works published in the archipelago date from early 17'~ century).Starting in the second half of the centuty a similar interest was shown for Annamite.This coincides with the establishment of the Jesnits in Cochin China once commercial contacts were initiated.Was it not for the good auspices of two great institutions: the Church of Rome and the Pnmignese Crown (Matos 2004: 157) and this increase in linguistic activity would have not eventuated.
It must be noted that learning Eastern languages was the snbject of a deliberation by decree issued by the five "Provincial Councils of Goa", which were held between 1567 and 1606.These ecclesiastical courts comprised high-ranking representatives of the Franciscan Order and tlie Company of Jesus.From the first to the last of these Councils came recommendations 'for the clergy to leam the languages of the lands where they preach', 'that they translate compendia of Christian doctrine in the langnage of the land', and 'that they write teaching books' (Rivara 1862: 10 e SS.).The ecclesiastical power has a steady preoccupation to push in a short period for vemacular teaching.The same policy had been carried out by civil authonties.The political powerbase of Portugal, while nnited with the Castilian crown hetween 1580 and 1640 was supportive of a movement to promote Asian languages.Although the interests nf the two neighbonring kingdoms did not always coincide, it is worth noting that Pomigal's attention concentrated its major attention on the Far East whilst Spanish interests centred on Latin America.Whether for reasons of political diplomacy or convenience of interests, the Portuguese administration determination to disseminate these languages is clear, from a numher of documents dated from the time of dynastic union.Dnring the reign of Spanish monarch Phillip 111 (1598Phillip 111 ( -1621)), examples of this protectionist attitude can be found in correspondence exchanged between Lisbon and the State of India.Letters signed by the King compelled church ministers to know local languages.As recorded in the following letter from King Phillip 111 (dated 1620), relating to two provinces in Portuguese India: Pelo muito que convem ao servico de Deus e meu que se cumpra inteiramente a ordem que tenho dado para que os ministros das christandades de Salcete e Bardis saibao a lingoa ordeno ao arcebispo dessa cidade que nas visitas que fizer se informe disto particularmente e que achando que a nao sabem alguns dos providos daquellas igrejas vos di conta disso para proverdes outros em seu lugar (Rego 1974: VI, 328).
[For what is deemed as convenient for the service of God and myself, let this order of mine be totally accomplished, so that the ministers of the Christian ministnes of Salsete and Bardez s1i;ill knou tlic toiigiics or iliosc pl;iccs; 1 order tlic nrclibisli~p of Eiirdci t11i11 \\*hile on his roiinds hc sliotild cs~ccinlls ~ntoriii himself about this issue, and that were he to find among the servants of those churches any who does not know tliese tongues, he should inform you of this so that you may proceed to replace them with who do] The replies, signed by govemors of India, clearly show the repercussions of these Royal orders: 2. Luso-oriental lexicography from the 17'' century The combined analysis of the lexicographical works included in the Appendix, allows the following generic remarks to be made: a) To begin with, works by Portuguese Franciscans are rare.The whereabouts of the few known and never published manuscripts8 are unknown.In what regards Jesuit missionaries' work it is a different scenario altogether, not so much because of the fate of those works, many of whicli have also been lost, particularly Luso-Sinic and Japanese dictionaries, but because even despite these losses, the number of surviving works is more significant.
b) The second generic aspect from the selection of lexicographical works reveals that in most cases, the classical language is excluded from the interlinguistic mix.This is a mark of originality and also marginality, not only because of Latin's hegemonythe intemational language of culture -, but also in the context of other didactic works -catechisms and grammarswhich, given the linguistic training of missionary staff in local languages (Zimmermann 2004: 13), tumed to the classical language as a way of activating their use by Europeans, knowledgeable of old arts.
It is known that the majority of missionary linguistic production (by Jesuits and other religious orders) was characterised by its contrastive features regarding Latin, no matter what language was studied.In the current case, apart from the tri-lingual It is wortli rernernberinc that the press in Goa, Macau and Japan was always submittcd to tlie Jesuits.On tlie other hand, Franciscans and Dominican rniseionvries who had begun rnoving into Japan at the end of the 16'" Century ivere mainly Spaniards.dictionary of Annamite-Portuguese-Latin (Alexandre de Rhodes 1651) and the Vocabzilarium Berzedicfi Pereyia converszrm in lingzram concariicani (Miguel Almeida, MS)" both compiled using Latin, al1 other works compare Pomiguese with the native languages (Japanese, Chinese, Annamite, Konkani and Tamil), as if to bestow equal value on the Romantic and Non-European languages.Given the context of a leamed Christian Europe sucli is surprising frotn a cultural perspective.It also has Linguistic implications in tlie stmcture of the dictionaries' items: with Latin absent, tlie definitions (as a lexicographical operation), both in Portuguese and in the native language tended to be more paraphrastic than those dictionaries where Latin was also used as a translation language.
For a more in-depth, although necessarily brief analysis let us look at the first Vocabulary published in the 17th Century: Vocabzrlario da lingoa de Iapam com a declaracZo ern poifugues, feilo por algzrns Padres, e Irni¿íos da Conzpanhia de IESV (Nasagaqui, 1603).Tom Maruyama (2004: 145) has already shown this to be a classic work of Japanese history and culture.From a lexicograpliical point of view, one could add tliat it is of no lesser importance in linguistic ternis.A preoccupation with procedural rigour is shown on some of tlie reflections in the preface texts about the chosen lexicographical strategy.This shall only be seen again in other dictionaries during the second half of the century.They record orthograpliical rules; phonetic guidelines regarding the prosodic quantity of some syllables; information about the register of dialectical variations (Kami and Shimo dialects), registry levels of language (common language) and stylistic variations (poetic register).Considering al1 these facts, the Vocnbzrlario da lingoa de Iapam reminds us of the European tradition of Thesazrri, whose exhaustive nature is seen in the network of synonyms, in often paraphrastic definitions, in phraseology as well as in the above mentioned infonnation regarding levels of language register and stylistic and metaphorical variations.That being said, because translation equivalents do not always exist, given the widely differing cultural worlds of the languages in question, abundant contextualization in Portuguese enables the semantics of the Japanese vocabulary to be successfully rendered, tlius compensating for the inevitable loss of information, whicli always occiirs in interlinguistic confrontation.
Wliile on the subject of Portuguese-Japanese dictionaries, tliere are rumours of a manuscript called Vocabzrlario portzrguez japonico, by Father Manuel Barreto, who referred to the work in the prologue of another m a n u ~c r i ~t ' ~.
Notliing can be said about this volume, however, since its whereabouts are unknown, and the same can be said of tlie Luso-Sinic dictionaries by Fathers Gaspar Ferreira and Álvaro Semedo.The manuscripts by these two Portuguese missionaries did not fare as well as the Dicionario Portuguts-Chin6s by the Italians Ruggieri and Ricci.The latter, As ihe tille suggests, its lexico~~apl~ical rnodel was the work Prosodia in vocab~~l~lrir.iv»zIrilingve larinv>n.Ivsilanicv!>~, el hispaniclmi digcsro (Evora, 1634), by the 17Ih century Portuguese Jesuit, Father BENTO PEREIRA.recently publislied, is considered as the first bilingual Europeaii-Chinese dictionary.As for Gaspar Ferreira and Álvaro Semedo's dictionaries, while their authorsliip has been proven in bibliographical records", the manuscripts themselves, wliich supposedly belong to the Peking library, have not beeii found.
Besides Chinese and Japanese, another linguistic barrier tliat had to be overcoine, was that of tlie Annamite language of tlie Dai-Viet kingdoin, whicli begins to appear in Portuguese sources mainly froiii the 17"' century on.Tlie Dicíionaii1>171 annnitiiticvt~~ lvsitanirr~~ e/ Iafirtvrri (Roma, 1651), published uiider tlie a~ithorsbip of tlie French Jesuit Alexandre de Rliodes, was, according to the infoimation in the preainble, elaborated "Ad lectorein", by Fathers Aiitónio Barbosa aiid Gaspar do Amaral, responsible for tlie Annamite and Portuguese seginents, respectively.Tliis dictionary is preceded by a brief, school-type grainmatical manual, wliich lays out the normative metalanguage of inorpliological classification.Besides a phonetic coinponent, there are seven classes of Annainite words, defined according to criteria of formal variatioii: on one side, the paradiginc of nouns, pronouns and verbs; on the other, tlie group of "orationis partibus indeclinabilibus", with prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions and interjections.This gramniatical excursion ends witli some "Praeceta quaedain ad syntaxiin pertinentia", thus inaking it a good exainple of syntax conceived as an extension of morphology.Anotlier peculiarity of this dictionary is tlie extensive "lndex latini sernionis", which appears as an appeiidix to the lexicograpliical text.It is a Latin lexical corpz~s, which, having page numbers for tlie relevant occurrences in thc dictionary inay be considered a Latin-Annamite version, wliere Latin is no loiiger the language of translation, but attains the status of source language.Tlie dictionary, which could thus be used tlirougli its Latin eiitries alphabetised in the index, began to be actively used by European missionaries.From the perspective of lexicographical practice, coinmon bilingual dictionary strategies are ~ised: tliere is copious coiitextualization of the vocabulary entries, witli respective Poiiuguese and Latin translations, or with explanational semautic definitions of concepts unfamiliar to the Western world.
In missionary lexicography, then, the culturally-explicable lack of translation cquivalents was solved either using a variety of definition types whicli allowed the bridging of lexical gaps resulting froin a lack of isomorpliism between tlie lexis of the languages, or, when this was not possible, gaps were simply left empty next to the entries.This occurs in the Dicioná~io Poiíi~gitfs-CItift?~ by Ruggieri and Ricci, and in various dictionaries of Konkani attributed to Portuguese missionaries.For instante, in the Vocabvlnr,io da INtgon da terva [Konkani], cotnpiled by Father Diogo Ribeiro in 1626, the following series of eiitries were left untranslated in Konkani: "Vua pendurada", "Vua pasada", "Vua moscatel", "Vua ferral", "Vua branca."Tliis lexical Corpus relating to diverse species of a fruit (grapes) belonging to a wine-producing country like Portugal, was not easily translatable given the limitations of the referential world.From the many dictionary manuscripts in the Goan vemacular, the Vocabulary by Diogo Ribeiro is one of the most often cited and the one that has the highest number of manuscript copies, many of which anonymous and even having different titles, which complicates their identification.They may be found in Goan and Portuguese libraries and have yet to be fully studied.This Vocabulary allowed access to the lexicon of the two languages, containing as it does a first part in Portuguese-Konkani and a second in Konkani-Portuguese, with their obvious different lexicographical characteristics.This might explain the great diffusion of manuscript copies.The Konkani-Portuguese version has a larger number of entries, almost encyclopaedic, to portray new realities to the European.
Before we conclude, a final and brief allusion to an anonymous manuscript kept in the National Library of Lisbon, the Vocabulario da INzguoa canarim (Pomiguese-~o n k a n i ) ' ~, whose structure clearly shows the didacticism of missionary linguistic works.The Vocabulary, with over 1000 entries, occupies 224 pages.It is followed by two annexes: the first being a small catechism wriiten in Konkani, in the form of a dialogue between Master (Gunr) and Disciple (Sissu).Tbrough an attractive question/answer method (an accepted teaching method since the middle Ages), the Master proffers a series of lessons on Christian duties for those who have not been initiated in the Cliiistiaii doctrine.This catechism, annexed as it is to a Vocabulary, is proof that grammatical description was constantly altered by catechistic intentions.On the other hand, it clearly shows how subordinate religious teaching was conceming language normatisation.The anonymous author of this Vocabulary, deploring the lack of "an original written by a good master of the Konkani script" (fl.224), also provides a second annex, entitled "Aos que quere leer por este cademo" ['To those who care to read from this book'], which contains reflections of a phonological nature and reading instructions for Konkani characters.These obsemations demonstrate great interest in the ingenious system of transcnption to Romance script, which the catholic missionaries employed wben adapting to phonologically different structures.

Luso-oriental grammars from the 17"' century
Availahle documentation only bighlights the work of two Jesuits: Joao Rodrigues and Tomás Esteviio, the only grammar authors who rnanaged to see published their Grammars of Japanese and Konkani, respectively.As far as it is known, Konkani was the first vemacular language of India to have a Grammar printed in the 17th century in the actual dialect of Goa, and a later work in a Northem dialect influenced by Marathi, which would only be published hvo '' The Kannada language at the time !vas no1 the language of the state of Kanara, which has a Dravidian language, but Konkani the Goan vcrnacular.
centuries ~ater'~.Wliile in Goa printing had existed froin tlie second half of the 161h century, the grammatical heritage of Konkani, wliich was even richer tlian tliat of Japanese, was mostly handwritten, generally by the Franciscans, as is also the case with lexicography.
Editorial production in Japanese seems to have trodden a more fomiitous path, with the two famous Grammars of Father JoXo Rodrigues among an editorial heritage, which began in the final years of tlie 161h century and extended for three centuries until its death knell was sounded by the expulsion of Jesuits and Christians from the Japanese archipelago.The merit always attributed to the first Grammar of JoZo Rodrigues is due to the originality of the publication when compared to other grammatical manuals of Japanese, which probably served as its information source.This is certainly the case with the work De institzrtioi?e grummatica Iibri tres.Coniugurioriibus accessit interpretatio Iappor?ica (Amacusa, 1594), known as the Japanese edition of the Latin Grammar of Father Manuel Álvares, although the Japanese translation is limited lo the system of verb conjugation.The exclusivity of this Latin Grammar by the Jesuit from Madeira Island was due lo its being the only book officially adopted in the Company of Jesus' schools, both within and beyond Enrope.This explains its broader version with a Japanese declaration by various Amakusa College clergymen This seems lo betray the want to allow the reader access in a single work to the niles of Latin grammar and the basics of Japanese grammar, in this case "De verborvm conivgatione" (Álvares 1594: 12v).Later, making use of declinations, prosodic and syntactical material, Jesuit missionaries adapted tlieir colleague's work, bu1 not without introducing a number of original simplifications.Such simplification was not in any way unusual.All the missionaiy Grammars are, primarily, didactic Grammars with a few elements of a nonnative or preceptive nature, but lacking speculative theorising, which are understandable given their immediate pedagogical objectives.Regarding these objectives, the most effective would appear to be easy-lo-use schematic alphabetisation tables, using mnemonics.Therefore, with regard to verbal flexion, almost a Iiundred pages of this so-called Japanese Grammar are entirely taken up with Latin, Portuguese and Japanese verb conjugations, presented in a succession of synoptic tables, providing a global reading.This methodological structuring, where schematisation allows for theoretical simplification, was not undertaken by chance.It rather cossesponds to a tendency seen in other grammatical compendia, which are also marked by a strong practica1 component.
With regard to this aspect, it is significant that Father JoZo Rodrigues, sent lo press the careful synopsis Arte breve (Macau, 1620), with fewer than half the number of pages, conceived as a purely didactic work sixteen years after publishing Arte grande (Nagasaqui, 1604).The writer pays lengthy service to the strategy of " These twa Grammars, both in Rornan scripf, were recomrnended in tlie 19'%ccnluiy for tiic sfudy af tlie Kankani language, along with thc study of Partugucse.
educational practice iii the starting cliapters of the first book of Arte breve, with indepth recommendations on the correct clioosing of teaching staff, teaching material~ and learning methodologies, all-important aspects in the didactics of language.
Other original aspects must be highlighted.It is well known that the grammatical description of European vernaculars in the Latin mould became a universal model, able to cover al1 linguistic phenomena, even those foreign to tlie classical paradigm.It is therefore easy to understand the subordinateness of Portuguese missiouary linguistics to the Latin model, although this did not preclude a methodologically contrastive perspective.This is clearly seen in JoZo Rodrigues, whose grammatical description, deriving from the classical model, synthesises elements of two different grammatical traditions: the Japanese, documented in rich literary tradition and the Greco-Latin legacy.This explains the work structure, in terms of organisation of fields of study, which follows a plan specifically adjusted to the cliaracteristics of the language being described, a sign of linguistic realisin in tlie face of the grammatical facts observed.A handful of these grammatical aspects will now be briefly analysed.
The conception of grammatical compendia, in the tradition of European grammar, is based on the traditional division of subjects into three parts, conceived according to tlie units described: on one Iiand, sounds, letters and syllables; on the other, words and groups of words, dealt with in tenns of morphology and syntax.This western tradition is clearly visible in Tomás EstEvZo and the anonymous writer of tlie Konkani Grammar.They orgaiiised their grammatical items into sections on orthography (prosody), etymology (morphology) and syntax.JoZo Rodrigues followed a different path, with Arte breve being made up of three books, which do not coincide with the traditional grammatical parts.The first book is an introduction to the study of Nipponese grammar: besides information on orthography and prosody, the book includes the complex system of verb conjugation and the treatment of non-declined nouns.The description of the tliird book is of a stylistic nature, made up of morphological and syntactic rules, with a view to their normative application in epistolary art and in writing in general.Finally, the second book, which is the inost syntbetic of the three, is also the most clearly attributable to Latin grammar, altliough it maintains a contrastive vision.The wliole morphological description, which is the subject of tlie book, is based on an acute perception of "difference".The classical model is not used here for grammatical coinparison, bu1 rather as a reference point for similarities and differences.For instance, with regard to the so-called "parts of speech", one of the essential points of the grammatical building, tbe author places side by side the classical Greco-Latin system and tlie three clasces of words inherited from the Japanese treaties on poetic art: nozrn ("na"), v e d ("kotoba") andparlicle ("tenifa").The presentation of a "postpositional" class in the Arte breve is another sign of grammatical realism JoZo Rodrigues now defines a "postposition" io its relation to a preceding noun, referring to the same syntactic criterion used to justify the use of a preposition in Latin grammar.The same applies to the Konkani Gramrnar.Altliougli the linguistic aiialysis states, "tliere is notliing but postpositions in this tougue" (Esteváo 1640: 73r), an aprioristic conception of grainmar leads Tomás EstCvEo to classify tlie iteins as "prepositious", agaiiist tlie evidence of tlieir postpositional use.
In conclusion, a brief note on syntactic material.In Al.te breve, the section relating to syntax, which is still included iii the second book, is coiifigured according to the Latin Grammar model of Father Manuel Álvares."Precepts" or compositional nonns are presented, followed by "appendixes" which specify the general rule being expounded.Tlie generic cliaracter of tliese rules and tlie succinct way in whicli tliey are treated suggest a deliberate iiitention of graminatical text siinplification, justified by the author in terms of its furtlier developinent in Arte grande.As in Manuel Álvares', on one Iiand, syntax is divided into "transitive aiid intrausitive," and on tlie otlier "just, 6r figured," where the classic "figurae constructionis" are dealt witli.Tlie inost distinctive aspect of this work wlien compared to tlie otlier iiiissionary Grammars, including tbose of the Amerindian languages is the inclusion of grammar and rlietoric on an equal footiiig within syiitax.The huinanistic vision of the eloquentia pe-fecta, that Joáo Rodrigues considered essential for its constructioii was not adopted in the oral languages of the Americas, since tliey lacked tlie weiglit of literary authorities and models, whicli were beiieficial to tlie Japanese grammarians.

Concluding remarks
Tlie aim of spreading tlie Portuguese language tlirougho~it the Far East territories, wliich is sometimcs presented as a siinile for tlie expansion of the imperial lang~iage of Rorne, was pari and parcel of a programine corninon to tlie expectations of the Nebrija era.The three objectives set by the Castilian grainmarian, as well as by the Portuguese Renaissance authors Feniáo de Oliveira and JoEo de Barros, in their fo~iiiding works on the normatisation of tlie Peninsular vernaculars, were making Latin easy to leam, codifying tlie language aiid tlien using it to build tlie ernpire.However, when compariiig this Renaissance linguistic ideal witli the proclamations of 17"' century Portuguese grammarians Iialf a century later, there is certainly a difference in attitude and critica1 orientation.The Iiistoriographical demarcation line is highlighted by the conception that "exotic" languages could achieve the status of a graminatical language, a sign of originality as well as of marginality in the grammatisation of European vernacular.Once cultivated, the languages could hecome a vehicle for any content.Instead of tlieir destruction, through tbe militancy of Portuguese, one can notice an equal defence of the graminatical pedagogy of tlie Portuyese vernacular and the languages of tlie discovered lands.Tliis would he achieved through an alleged coinparative study, with Portuguese and Latin as its languages of confrontation.In this manner, "reducing the barbarian tongues to a grainmatical method" was a linguistic way of life for the writers of that century, especially the Jesuits, in their production of a grammaticography and lexicography of non-European languages.