An experimental investigation of phonological, morphological, and semantic variables of alternating diminutives in Brazilian Portuguese

• Grant number: 23/13488-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Maria Filomena Spatti Sandalo
• Grantee: Anna Carolina de Oliveira Almeida
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project is dedicated to the alternation between diminutives of structure stem+dim and word+dim which can be derived for the same base in Brazilian Portuguese from the suffixes -inh and -zinh. The aim is to investigate whether this phenomenon is conditioned by phonological, morphological, and semantic variables. One hypothesis is that the tendency of Portuguese to arrange stress binarily could favor diminutives with an even number of syllables. Other hypotheses are that the phenomenon could be related to the greater or lesser extent of the base or to its frequency of use, considering that monosyllabic and polysyllabic words, as well as rare and common words, undergo processes with phonological implications differently. Additionally, correlation with the syllabic structure of bases belonging to different thematic classes before and after the addition of morphemes will be explored, taking into account Optimality Theory's faithfulness constraints regarding the input and the base. Finally, this project intends to test whether each diminutive corresponds to distinct meanings, more specifically appreciative and pejorative evaluations. Naturalness judgment tests will be conducted with real words and nonwords, selected according to number of syllables and thematic class; for real words, frequency of use will also be considered. The experiments will be shared via social media in order to reach young speakers of the dialect of the State of São Paulo. The data will be modeled according to the Maximum Entropy Grammar framework, which is based on Optimality Theory but more suitable for addressing variation.