Chapter published in:
The Social Dynamics of Pronominal Systems: A comparative approach
Edited by Paul Bouissac
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 304] 2019
► pp. 57–74

Chapter 3
A socio-semiotic approach to the personal pronominal system in Brazilian Portuguese

| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
In this chapter, we analyse how the personal pronouns in the Portuguese language system have evolved from a basic prescriptive use recommended by the grammar handbooks to a more complex and fluent performance by its more than 250 million Lusophone speakers, adapting to their particular differences and needs. The main focus is on the Brazilian Portuguese and how the non-traditional implementation of a differentiated personal pronoun system in Brazil abides by linguistic, social, and cultural laws, establishing new forms and usages toward fulfilling meaningful demands in Brazilian society.
Keywords: personal pronouns, Brazilian Portuguese system, linguistic innovation
Article outline
  • Overview
  • Subject or nominative pronouns
  • Person 1
  • Person 2, person 5 and other forms of addressing
  • Non-person 3 and non-person 6
  • Person 4
  • Direct object or accusative pronouns
  • Indirect object or dative pronouns
  • Reflexive pronouns
  • Pronouns with prepositions
  • Impersonal subject: se
  • Final remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 23 July 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.304.03rec
References
Azeredo, José Carlos
2008 Gramática Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. São Paulo: Publifolha.Google Scholar
Azevedo, Milton
2005 Portuguese: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bagno, Marcos
2011 Gramática Pedagógica do Português Brasileiro. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial.Google Scholar
Bechara, Evanildo
1999 Moderna Gramática Portuguesa. 37th ed. Rio de Janeiro: Lucerna.Google Scholar
Benveniste, Émile
1971 Problems in General Linguistics. Miami: University of Miami Press.Google Scholar
Cunha, Celso, and Lindley Cintra
1985 Nova Gramática do Português Contemporâneo. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.Google Scholar
Lopes, Célia, and Márcia Rumeu
2015 “A Difusão do Você pelas Estruturas Sociais Carioca e Mineira dos Séculos XIX e XX.” LaborHistórico, 1 (1), 12–25. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Neves, Maria H. M.
2015 “Os Pronomes.” In Gramática do Português Culto Falado no Brasil. Vol. IV. Palavras de Classe Fechada, ed. by Rodolfo Ilari, 13–102. São Paulo: Contexto.Google Scholar
Naro, Anthony, and Maria Scherre
2007 Garimpo das Origens do Português Brasileiro. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial.Google Scholar
Tarallo, Fernando
1996 “Diagnosticando uma gramática brasileira: o português d’aquém e d’além-mar ao final do século XIX.” In Português Brasileiro: Uma Viagem Diacrônica, ed. by Ian Roberts and Mary Kato, 69–105. Campinas, SP: Editora da UNICAMP.Google Scholar