As construções concessivas de polaridade negativa no português do Brasil

Abstract

This paper focuses on Concessive Constructions of Negative Polarity (CCNPs) of two kinds [P even if Q - “Tento estar presente, nem que seja por mensagens de texto [I try to be present, even if it is through text messages] Veja magazine] and [~ P even if Q - E daqui não saio, nem que me empurrem [And I don’t leave here, even if they push me] Corpus NILC] and, in order to develop it, we use ,mainly, theoretical constructs of Cognitive Linguistics (LAKOFF, 1987; LAKOFF, JOHNSON, 1999; FAUCONNIER, TURNER, 2002; SALOMÃO 1997-2002; MIRANDA, 2000) and Construction Grammar (LAKOFF, 1987;GOLDEBERG, 1995; SALOMÃO,1997-2002; MIRANDA, 2000,2002, 2006). Having Corpus Linguistics as methodology (SARDINHA, 2004; ALUÍSIO, AMEIDA, 2006), a corpus was built with examples assembled through online search methods, blogs, online magazines of Editora Abril and corpus NILC, totalling 300 pieces of data with the connector even if. The analysis of data, with support from principles of The Pragmatics of Polarity (ISRAEL, 2004), led to the evidence of the existence of two kinds of CCNPs whose prototypicality was determined by the distribution of the items of polarity: (1) affirmative main clauses select minimal conditions as Positive Polarity Items (PPI) (Recorra à aromaterapia para relaxar, nem que seja por 15 minutos [ Make use of aromatherapy to relax, even if it is for 15 minutes] Cláudia magazine), whereas (2) negative main clauses select maximum conditions, sometimes hyperbolic, as their Negative Polarity Items ( NPI ) (o empresário não vai querer a estrada nem que o Estado implore [the entrepreneur won’t want the road even if the Government begs] Exame magazine). Most constructions of the corpus are of the affirmative type (230 or 7,97%). The low occurrence of negatives – 22,3% - is due to the cognitive complexity and discursive demands involved in a negation. Besides this finding, the pluridimensions of CCNPs were described. In the conceptual dimension, image schemas were shown (LINK, CENTRE-PERIPHERY, SCALE, FORCE and FORCE DYNAMIC) and the metaphors (MORE IS UP – LESS IS DOWN, CAUSE IS PHYSICAL FORCE, ARGUMENT IS WAR) which interpose the cognitive elaboration of CCNPs, as well as the metonymic process PART FOR WHOLE present on the basis of the Hyperbolic CCNP were presented (não largo, nem que a vaca tussa [I don’t let go, even if pigs fly]). In the pragmatic dimension, the configuration of the CCNPs as speech acts and the role of the context as a way of avoiding ambiguous interpretation of the illocutionary act in 9 the use of those constructions were presented. Our analysis showed also the nonsynonymy semantic-pragmatic of the CCNPs compared to the other constructions of the concessive net of Brazilian Portuguese (BP), focusing on their discursive distribution (more informal contexts) and their semantic specificity of negative polarity marked by the connector even if which preserves the lexical meaning of adverbial negation of even. In the morphosyntactic dimension, the mood-temporal and syntatic arrangement standards in their connection with the semantic-pragmatic meaning moods of this paper were presented. Finally, we created a partial net radially organized by inheritance relationships showing the knot made by the Concessive Constructions of Negative Polarity and their two heir constructions. Our analysis consolidate the hypothesis that the CCNPs are a specific construction standard in the concessive construction of BP net.