Comparative analysis of the existing etymologies in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras)

• Grant number: 23/11406-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Historical Linguistics
• Principal Investigator: Mário Eduardo Viaro
• Grantee: Mariana Vargas Rechia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project intends to organize a documental study on the current situation of the search for a method to establish scientifically based etymological proposals of sign languages and its problematics, with special focus on Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), through a comparative study of documents related to ASL (American Sign Language) and LSF (French Sign Language), languages that are historically linked to Libras. The main problems expected are the difficulty in access to etymological information, the difference between the definitions of Etymology used by the existing material and the definition used in the making of this project, and the diversity in methods to obtain etymons in the field of Sign Language Linguistics. With this study it is expected to identify already obtained etymological elements, to map the different definitions of Etymology and to compare them with the etymological research of oral languages.