Turpilóquio em português e italiano: reflexões sobre marcas de uso de itens tabus em dicionários

In this paper, we tried to understand the place of taboo words and their importance in the language. We focused questions about the taboo and how words can be prohibited. We elected swear words as our object of research because these words have an important place in the lexicon of many speakers, and they are present in books and movies, as well as in the everyday speech. Therefore, we tried to show that they must be analyzed with attention and also free from prejudices. We found out that the use of bad words can be very different in the languages selected and they reflect thus the culture of the languages involved.

O léxico tabu: usos e aspectos socioculturais

The language in use in a society is product of a culture and reflects the way a community thinks. Therefore, the lexical units, through the meanings assigned by a social group, establish a specific look of the universe. We intend to demonstrate that for the denomination of the sexual organs of the human body it usual to avoid the official anatomical terminology – relegated to the contexts of great formality – and to adopt other lexical items during informal situations. This paper reflects about some sociocultural aspects of the forbidden language, that encloses the erogene zones. Using as theory the studies of Lexicology and the obscene lexicon, we intend to verify this lexical typology based in our corpus, and stimulate reflections about the use and the substitution of the official terminology, showing that there are variations in relation to the age and gender of the speakers. We intend, with this research, to demystify some prejudices related to the erotic-obscene lexicon, its use and its creation and to stimulate reflections.

Vozeamento na pronúncia de uma língua estrangeira: descrição de desvios comuns e como eles afetam o aprendizado do inglês

This paper analyzes voicing occurrences on the coda of Portuguese and English words pronounced by Brazilian speakers. The aim of this kind of analysis is to describe how voicing occurrences affect the realization and perception of foreign words. It was noted that there is a recurrence on the use of unvoiced coda in Portuguese, which was assumed to happen also in English when Brazilian Portuguese speakers uses it as a second language. The recordings were analyzed through Praat, software that generates waveforms and spectrograms, allowing segments to be divided and phonetically transcribed. The analysis proved the assumption to be true, concluding that speakers who had their speeches recorded produced unvoiced codas in fact. Conclusions concerning this take into consideration that, considering how minimal pairs in English can be produced based on coda voicing, there is a possible communication difficulty Brazilians may face due to this fact. But it goes by unnoticed, because this process sounds so natural it hardly is taken as a problem source

A nasalidade vocálica em português e em espanhol

Pós-graduação em Linguística e Língua Portuguesa - FCLAR

A redução de vogais no português: estudo de uma amostra do PE em comparação com o PB

This study aims to verify the reduction phenomenon and/or disappearance of vowels, especially unstressed vowels in PE compared to the PB, obtained by analysis of the recording of an oral reading sample of the Mar Português poem, by Fernando Pessoa, made by informants of the two variants. The noticeable difference in pronunciation of the informants, with any possibility of reaching up to no understanding of European pronunciation by Brazilian speakers motivated the development of an experiment that allowed us to compare the duration of vowels produced in the two variants. By isolating and measuring the vowels at Praat audio analysis program, this study was to confirm the reduction and, in extreme cases, the disappearance of unstressed vowels in PE, a phenomenon described in Mateus and D'Andrade (2000)

Como o ensino vê a variação?

Thinking about the correlations between linguistic variation and education is both necessary and urgent if we wish to make language teaching more appropriate, fairer and more meaningful. I take, on one hand, already well-established concepts derived from research on language: the variable nature of language (in space, time, situations) and the intrinsic relationship between this variation and social structure, the communicative needs of speakers, the needs and desires that speakers have to build their social identity. On the other hand, we found out that the teaching of Portuguese language has usually been based on a vision that assumes the language as a static reality. I propose to contrast the two components of this issue, to reveal where, and if, any relationship has been established, and where it is to be built. In the first instance, I seek to evaluate the bond – how one speaks about change when this issue comes to be focused; in the second, I seek the reasons for absence - ignorance or indifference?

Inovação científica em estudos medievais: descobrindo os sons do português arcaico

In the context of the confrontation between the several existing possibilities of comprehension of the term “innovation” in the Linguistic fields, the main goal of this paper is to explore the comprehension of this term considering the adoption of new methodologies, based on the analysis of a specific case, of the Research Group Phonology of Portuguese: Archaic and Brazilian periods, which investigates the phonology of a past period of the language from which there are no more alive native speakers.

Variação e mudança linguística: panorama e perspectivas da sociolinguística variacionista no Brasil

Since the 1970s many research groups have emerged in Brazil in the area of Sociolinguistics, seeking to investigate language in relation to social factors that distinguish different speech communities to deconstruct the idea of linguistic homogeneity. Many of the works have been based on variationist sociolinguistics (LABOV, 2008 [1972]), for which variation and change are inherent to languages, i.e., heterogeneous structures are part of the speakers’ linguistic competence, as a cultural phenomenon motivated by linguistic and extralinguistic factors. Our aim, in this article, is to address the paths of Sociolinguistics since its beginning as a science, focusing mainly on the variationist strand, by recalling its key-concepts and methodology, and to present an overview of the research works conducted in Brazil in this field nowadays.

Bases teórico-metodológicas para a elaboração de um dicionário português-espanhol de economia

The aim of this article is to present the theoretic-methodological bases for the construction of a bilingual terminological dictionary of economics which serves either Portuguese and Spanish speakers. Th e contrasted languages are the Brazilian Portuguese variety and the peninsular and Argentinean varieties. The purpose of this text is based on the principles of the Communicative Theory of Terminology - CTT (Cabré, 1999).

O desestranhamento em relação ao alemão na aprendizagem do idioma: um processo de aproximação ao outro sob a perspectiva da competência intercultural

This article aims to approach, under a critical perspective, images about German language and their speakers, presented by Brazilian university students interested in or engaged in learning this language in the first stage of studies. The purpose is to deal with evidences of the occurrence of stereotypical images and to discuss their implications in/for the teaching-learning process, aiming with this study to show the importance of considering and establishing as a relevant goal in the teaching of German, the necessity of a destrangement route or period, through a methodological approach aimed at helping the students in the process of developing intercultural competence. Such discussions are founded in theoretical conceptions related to the notions of other and self, intercultural competence, intercultural approach, as well as in results obtained through an investigation conducted within the field of foreign language (German) learning.

Analise fonológica de nomes próprios de origem estrangeira e novas criações em português brasileiro

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

O desenvolvimento da expressão modalizadora “pode ser”. um caso de (inter)subjetivização no português

Based on a functionalist approach, this paper analyzes the modalized expression pode ser as a complement-taking predicate which embeds a proposition (pode ser1) and as an independent structure (pode ser2), in contemporary written and spoken Brazilian Portuguese texts. We aim to identify degrees of (inter)subjectivity, revealing a process of (inter)subjectification (TRAUGOTT, 2010 among others). The analysis carried out in this paper is supported by parameters of (inter)subjectivity of modal elements (TRAUGOTT; DASHER, 2002) and by the notion of modality as a multifunctional category, serving not only to encodethe speaker’s attitude regarding the modalized content, but also as a pragmatic strategy, as a regulator of communicative situation. The exam reveals pode ser as a strongly demanded structure in interaction, a fairly requested set and also productive and useful for interpersonal relationships. The examination of semantic, discursive and morphosyntactic properties indicates a shift from syntax (pode ser1) to discourse (pode ser2), interpreted as a development of (inter)subjectification.

Conflitos no diálogo eu-outro em contexto de Tandem português e espanhol

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Khoisan hunter-gatherers have been the largest population throughout most of modern-human demographic history

The Khoisan people from Southern Africa maintained ancient lifestyles as hunter-gatherers or pastoralists up to modern times, though little else is known about their early history. Here we infer early demographic histories of modern humans using whole-genome sequences of five Khoisan individuals and one Bantu speaker. Comparison with a 420 K SNP data set from worldwide individuals demonstrates that two of the Khoisan genomes from the Ju/'hoansi population contain exclusive Khoisan ancestry. Coalescent analysis shows that the Khoisan and their ancestors have been the largest populations since their split with the non-Khoisan population similar to 100-150 kyr ago. In contrast, the ancestors of the non-Khoisan groups, including Bantu-speakers and non-Africans, experienced population declines after the split and lost more than half of their genetic diversity. Paleoclimate records indicate that the precipitation in southern Africa increased similar to 80-100 kyr ago while west-central Africa became drier. We hypothesize that these climate differences might be related to the divergent-ancient histories among human populations.

Differences in acoustic and perceptual parameters of the voice between elderly and young women at habitual and high intensity

The present study aimed to compare elderly and young female voices in habitual and high intensity. The effect of increased intensity on the acoustic and perceptual parameters was assessed. Sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and harmonic to noise ratio were obtained at habitual and high intensity voice in a group of 30 elderly women and 30 young women. Perceptual assessment was also performed. Both groups demonstrated an increase in sound pressure level and fundamental frequency from habitual voice to high intensity voice. No differences were found between groups in any acoustic variables on samples recorded with habitual intensity level. No significant differences between groups were found in habitual intensity level for pitch, hoarseness, roughness, and breathiness. Asthenia and instability obtained significant higher values in elderly than young participants, whereas, the elderly demonstrated lower values for perceived tension and loudness than young subjects. Acoustic and perceptual measures do not demonstrate evident differences between elderly and young speakers in habitual intensity level. The parameters analyzed may lack the sensitivity necessary to detect differences in subjects with normal voices. Phonation with high intensity highlights differences between groups, especially in perceptual parameters. Therefore, high intensity should be included to compare elderly and young voice.