This paper analyses the Jesuits’s policy of standardization of the Tupi language during Colonial times, and is based on the study of the nexus between manuscript and printed material in Tupi. It positions an ensemble of manuscript catechisms, grammars and dictionaries, composed in 18th century’s Amazon, between the “true Língua geral” diglossia – identified with the variant used in 17th and 18th centuries printed works (Anchieta, 1959; Figueira, 1621; 1698; Araújo, 1618; 1686) –, and the “corrupt Língua geral” – identified with the Tupi variation spoken in the Missions. We make the assumption that these compositions are differently settled in the scale regarding the textual genre: catechisms are more conservative, since they were faithful to the variety used in printed Tupi works, while dictionaries and grammars reflects the oral Tupi variant used in the Missions.
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