The semantics of comparative structures in Portuguese and in Karitiana: a cross-linguistic study

• Grant number: 15/01501-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: July 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Ana Lucia de Paula Muller
• Grantee: Luciana Sanchez Mendes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This post-doctoral project focus on comparative constructions in two languages: Portuguese and Karitiana (an indigenous language spoken in Rondonia-Brazil). The project was inspired by Beck et al. (2009), a paper on comparative constructions in 14 languages that proposes to group them according to two semantic parameters. The data collected up to now show that neither Portuguese nor Karitiana meet the parameters proposed by the authors. Therefore, this research project aims to contribute to the theoretical debate, as well as to expand our knowledge of the Brazilian Portuguese and Karitiana. (AU)