Restrictions on the interpretation of the proform ele with local antecedent in Brazilian Portuguese: an experimental study

• Grant number: 11/04281-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Psycholinguistics
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Bicudo Grolla
• Grantee: Karina Gomes Bertolino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The distribution of pronominal elements in a sentence is not unconstrained. Usually it is assumed that syntactic principles (such as Principle B) and pragmatic principles (such as Principle P) regulate the distribution of these elements when local coreference takes place. This analysis is widely accepted when one considers English or Dutch pronouns, for example. However, some studies from the 1980's point out that native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) allow coreference of the third-person form 'ele' with a local subject in matrix clauses (LEMLE, 1985; GALVES, 1986). If we consider that 'ele' is a pronoun, as traditionally done, these data suggest that BP appears to violate Principle B. In order to account for this problem, we suggest that 'ele' is constrained by the same restrictions regulating the distribution of the French form 'lui'(ZRIBI-HERTZ, 1995). These constraints take into account the semantic nature of the predicate (of probable or improbable reflexivity), and not the syntactic structure where the proform is located. Our research aims (i) to investigate the status of 'ele' in adult BP, by checking whether the type of predicate has some influence on the acceptability of coreference (or binding) between the proform and the local subject; (ii) to verify whether or not children acquiring BP as their native language are as sensitive as adults to semantic and pragmatic restrictions regulating the interpretation of 'ele'.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BERTOLINO, Karina Gomes. Restrictions on the interpretation of the form \ele\ with antecedent of the Brazilian Portuguese: an experimental study. 2013. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.