Portuguese Language for Migrant Students: The Discourse of Welcoming in Public Policies

The main objective of this study is to analyze the effects of meaning produced by the discourse of welcoming (acolhimento) that constitutes the discursivity of public policies aimed at migrant students in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. We seek to understand how discursive memory shapes the official discourse of these public policies. This study is part of an ongoing research project developed within the PPGEL/UFFS and is grounded in the theoretical foundations of Discourse Analysis, following the theoretical-methodological perspectives of Pêcheux and Orlandi. The research corpus consists of the following documents: State Law No. 18,018, which establishes the State Policy for the Migrant Population; Ordinance SED No. 2083/2023, which regulates procedures related to school enrollment and the recognition of studies completed abroad; and the Pedagogical Project of the Program for the Reception of Refugees and Foreigners (PARE/SC), whose objective is to promote a humanized reception of migrant students. Our interpretative gesture reveals that a memory of language is at work within this discourse. We understand that there is an attempt to promote a humanized welcoming through the Portuguese language for migrant students; however, since language is not transparent, other meanings emerge within the discourse of welcoming, and this discursive functioning produces effects for language policy in the state of Santa Catarina.