BETWEEN LINGUISTIC WALLS AND THE THIRD SPACE. THE JURUBAÇAS’ IDENTITY AND THEIR ROLE IN SINO-PORTUGUESE NEGOTIATIONS AFTER THE 1622 DUTCH ATTACK在語言障壁與第三空間之間：一六二二年荷蘭侵襲之後 jurubaças 家族在中葡談判中的身份及角色
This article examines the identity construction and political role of the jurubaças (East Asian Chinese-Portuguese interpreters/linguistic mediators) families within the context of Sino-Portuguese relations following the Dutch attack of 1622. The study argues that, under conditions of linguistic bar...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
January 2008
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40025/3667 |
| Summary: | This article examines the identity construction and political role of the jurubaças (East Asian Chinese-Portuguese interpreters/linguistic mediators) families within the context of Sino-Portuguese relations following the Dutch attack of 1622. The study argues that, under conditions of linguistic barriers, military and diplomatic pressure, the jurubaças assumed a "third space" role of a cross-cultural and bilingual/multilingual nature, facilitating understanding, negotiation, and the redistribution of power between Portugal and China; their identity was not simply situated within a binary colonial/colonized opposition, but rather constituted a hybrid position continually revised through institutional interactions.
Methodologically, the author employs third-space theory (drawing on Homi Bhabha and postcolonial discussions of hybridity) as an analytical framework, and turns to a historical investigation of the literature on the jurubaças: examining the etymology and variant orthographies of "jurubaça" (derived from the Malay jurubassa) and its appearance in Macao and surrounding documents from the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries, thereby connecting the diplomatic mediation and interpreting practices of the post-1622 period. The conclusion suggests that, as the Portuguese side strengthened its defenses and maneuvered with local Chinese officials in the aftermath of the war, the jurubaças' linguistic competence and cultural familiarity rendered them crucial intermediaries in the negotiation process, thus making mediation "between language walls" a significant entry point for understanding Sino-Portuguese interactions. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |