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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1402

Part of Session 139: Variation and Change in São Paulo (Other abstracts in this session)

Sentential negation in Paulistano Portuguese

Authors: Rocha, Rafael Stoppa
Submitted by: Rocha, Rafael Stoppa (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil)

A preliminary study of variable structuring of negative sentences in Paulistano Portuguese has revealed that the non-standard form is favored by sons of non-Paulistanos individuals and by women (ROCHA, 2011). The first result leads to a contact approach of how the non-Paulistanos individuals have interacted linguistically with Paulistanos ones and how their sons interact with the other inhabitants of the city. In this paper, we present results of multivariate quantitative analyses and discuss them in light of contact of varieties.

There are three possible sentential negative structures in Brazilian Portuguese: (i) NEG1 [Neg V] (Não vou); (ii) NEG2 [Neg V Neg] (Não vou não); and (iii) NEG3 [V Neg] (Vou não) ‘I won’t go’. NEG1 is traditionally considered the standard canonical form, as it is almost categorical in written language (ILARI & BASSO, 2006). Some authors argue NEG2 and NEG3 are frequent in northeastern Brazil or even caracteristic of the region (MARROQUIM, 2008 [1945]; SCHWEGLER, 1991 apud MELLO et al., 1998; BARME, 2005; SCHWENTER, 2005).

In a sample of 12 sociolinguistic interviews with native Paulistano speakers, NEG 3 is barely present ( less than 1%), but non-canonical NEG2 is relatively frequent (11% of the total data) and highly favored in non-Paulistanos sons' speech (.78).

In face of these results, since São Paulo (located in southeastern Brazil) has received a large number of northeasters though the last six decades - over 2,5 millions individuals from 1970 to 1991 (CUNHA et alli, 2000) -, this paper discusses this case of variation especially in reference to Paulistanos parents' homeland.