Basic illocutions in the native languages of Brazil

This paper shows that the distribution of basic illocutions (defined as grammatical structures that can be related to a default communicative intentions) within and across the indigenous languages of Brazil can be described systematically in terms of a set of implicational hierarchies by means of which the existence of certain basic illocutions can be predicted from the existence of others. In doing so, a case is made for a major distinction between propositional and behavioural basic illocutions, the former having to do with the exchange of information, the latter with influencing behaviour.

Ordering of representational level adverbial modifiers in spoken Brazilian Portuguese

Supported by the Functional Discourse Grammar theoretical model, as proposed by Hengeveld (2005), this paper aims to show that the order of modifiers of the Representational Level in spoken Brazilian Portuguese is determined by scope relations according to the layers of property, state-of-affairs and propositional content. This kind of distribution indicates that, far from being free-ordered as suggested by traditional grammarians, modifiers have a preferred position determined by semantic relations that may be only changed for pragmatic and structural reasons.

The expressibility of modality in representational complement clauses in Brazilian Portuguese

This paper deals with the (im)possibility of expressing a variety of modal categories within the context of the layering approach to complementation in Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG).Our hypothesis is that modal expressions in complement clauses only pertain to operator or modifier classes of the highest layer relevant for that type of embedded construction and for all lower levels. In order to test this hypothesis, occurrences of complement clauses in two databases of spoken Brazilian Portuguese are analyzed. The investigation of this hypothesis is restricted to representational complement clauses.

A relação adverbial temporal na lusofonia sob a perspectiva da gramática discursivo-funcional

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

Sintaxe das orações complexas em português: uma proposta de descrição e ensino

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Orações concessivas independentes à luz da gramática discursivo-funcional

This paper investigates, in light of the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008), the concessive clause that is not subordinated to other clauses, i.e., it has no semantic or syntactic relations with clauses before or after it, and which we call Independent Concessive. The aim is to describe the discursive properties and the semantic, morphosyntactic and prosodic structure of this type of clause, showing that its relevance is in the construction and organization of discourse. The results indicate that the Independent Concessive works in speech as a parenthesis which interrupts the discursive course and is then highlighted by a special prosodic contour, combined with the presence of Interactive Acts. It is therefore a Move, the highest layer of the Interpersonal Level, the level that relates to the pragmatic aspects of the grammar of a language. The universe of research used is the Iboruna corpus, a database that records a variety of Portuguese from the Northwest of São Paulo.

A referência anafórica por encapsulamento: gramática e discurso

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

A indeterminação pragmática e semântica do sujeito

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

O sintagma verbal em português: construções perifrásticas e não-perifrásticas

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

Clivagem e construções similares: contraste, foco e ênfase

This paper deals with so called cleft constructions and other similar structures in eight Portuguese varieties, aiming to show that the formal differences correspond to different functional strategies used by the Speaker to achieve his/her communicative intentions, i.e., Focus, Contrast and Emphasis, in accordance with the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar (Hengeveld and Mackenzie, 2008). This study takes as evidence real spoken occurrences extracted from a corpus organized by Linguistic Centre at the University of Lisbon, in partnership with the University of Toulousse Mirail and the University of Provence-Aix-Marseille. The results show the following distribution: cleft construction is a strategy for pragmatic function Contrast marking; Focus-ser constructions are used to highlight a constituent and (é) que is used as an operator of emphasis showing the speaker’s desire to intensify certain pieces of information.

Funções interacionais na sala de aula: da subordinação adverbial à subordinação discursiva

Taking into account the treatment offered to adverbial subordination in teaching and learning Portuguese, this article presents contributions from Functional Discourse Grammar concerning clausal (in)dependency and the acceptance of Discourse Subordination in the systematization of adverbial relation in teaching contexts.

O estatuto lexical das preposições sob e sobre

This paper describes the prepositions sob and sobre in the Functional Discourse Grammar framework (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008) aiming at checking their lexical or grammatical status on the basis of classification criteria postulated by Keizer (2007). The following aspects point to their lexical status : (i) they consist of an Ascription Subact; (ii) they contain a specific content on the vertical axis signaling inferiority and superiority position in relation to a limit; (iii) they are not required by any predicate, but they are predicates by themselves, which require complementation by an argument playing Reference semantic function; (iv) they may be combined with de, em, para and por; which are genuine grammatical prepositions; and, finally, (v) they are not subjected to any phonological process of reduction and fusion.

Atos discursivos interativos nas variedades do português falado

This paper aims to analyze and to characterize the structure of some linguistic expressions that, in the view of Functional Discourse Grammar (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008), are called Interactive Acts because they show the Speaker, the Addressee and the Illocution positions filled in. To do so, we analyse data composed of representative texts of Portuguese spoken in Portugal, in Brazil, in African countries (those that have Portuguese as official language) and in East Timor

Interrogativas encaixadas vs. relativas sem antecedente: contribuições da Gramática Discursivo-Funcional

This work deals with the distinction between embedded questions and headless relatives, that was already pointed out as problematic in several studies based on generative approach. The purpose is to examine to what extent functional aspects, as proposed by the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar (HENGEVELD; MACKENZIE, 2008) to describe the two types of clauses can contribute to the explanation of the differences and similarities between them. Based on representative occurrences of spoken Brazilian Portuguese, we demonstrated that the approach of Functional Discourse Grammar provides important parameters for defining the nature of these two types of clauses, in both formal and functional (semantic-discursive) terms, contributing thus to the existing proposals for the distinction between these clauses.

Gramática Discursivo-Funcional e os estudos tipológicos: um exercício de análise das línguas indígenas do Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento em Pesquisa (CNPq)