The opacity of similarity: an etymological study of homographs verbs in Portuguese and Spanish

• Grant number: 15/13660-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2015
• End date: September 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Portuguese Language
• Principal Investigator: Mário Eduardo Viaro
• Grantee: Jose Andre Teodoro Torres
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research intends to look for the etymon of some homograph verbs in relation Portuguese/Spanish, and from then try to explain the semantic differences in the current sync. The aims of this research are: to seek explanations for the existence and development of homographic words that behaves as great enemies of the students during the process of foreign language acquisition, as well as demystify the common belief that learning Portuguese and Spanish as foreign languages is something banal. Making use of Etymology, Historical Linguistics and Semantics, we propose here an investigation about the first occurrence of selected verbs and also the possible semantic changes that they have passed over the centuries.