THE ROLES OF ONDE (WHERE) IN DISCOURSE

Abstract

Starting from the premise that language is heterogeneous, variable and its study is not exhaustive in the analysis of intrinsic properties, the present study analyzes the process by which the item onde (where), qualified by normative grammar as relative pronoun, relative adverb and interrogative pronoun, has been passing through some years, being called the grammaticalization process. The grammaticalization process is the path taken by a word, along which it changes syntactic category, undergoes semantic, phonological, morphological changes etc. From the early grades what has been observed in Portuguese classes in terms of teaching writing is strictly linked to the convenient use of the standard norm, which often disregards the phenomena of language. In this sense, investigating the functioning of onde in discourse compared to its normative functioning becomes relevant for us, as this practice enables us to broaden our understanding of discursive processing, which often goes beyond our normative grammatical knowledge. To this end, we rely on the authors Castilho (2004), Costa Val (2004) and Marinho (1998, 1999, 2002, 2005), who discuss the use of language from a linguistic perspective, and the authors Cegalla (2007), Cunha and Cintra (2008) and Bechara (2009), who discuss the use of language in a normative perspective. To compose the corpus of this study, we selected ten excerpts from academic texts to be analyzed. At the end of the study, we conclude that item onde is playing different roles than prescribed by normative grammar, but without losing its locative property, which often comes in the form of abstract / notional place, retaking nonphysical places.