Discourses about Lula's voice: uses and meanings of the Brazilian electoral voice in political discourse in 1989 and 2002

• Grant number: 14/08993-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2014
• End date: June 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Félix Piovezani Filho
• Grantee: Alan José Ponce da Costa
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This Project intends to analyze the discourses and meanings behind Luís Inácio Lula da Silva´s voice. More specifically, through a comparative analysis between the acoustic and auditive qualities of his voice, we are interested in describing and interpreting its characteristics and possible changes and evolution of segmental and supra-segmental traits and most importantly, prosodic traits in the former president´s electoral speeches. We are basing ourselves in the analyses of the vocal settings, the dynamics and voice quality, which affect almost directly, the meaning and identity production of the speaker. Based on Michel Pêcheux theories and procedures of the French Discourse Analysis, phonetic analytic, articulative, acoustic and auditive resources we will discursively analyze Lula´s statements produced during the electoral campaigns of 1989 and 2002, linked to Horário Gratuito de Propaganda Eleitoral (HGPE). The results obtained from these analyses will be analyzed through the perception of listeners and their answers to a survey of questions, created with the intent of learning what is heard by the subject not the specialist when exposed to Lula´s speeches. The acoustic descriptions of the material will be interpreted using the program PRAAT®, version 5.1.31, with which we will analyze the prosodic parameters that include intensity and duration. (AU)