LES EXPRESSIONS DÉICTIQUES AI ET PRAI. REGISTRE COLLOQUIAL, APPROXIMATION ET RESPONSABILISATION ÉNONCIATIVE
DEICTIC EXPRESSIONS AÍ AND PRAÍ. COLLOQUIAL REGISTER, HEDGING AND ENUNCIATIVE RESPONSIBILITY

Summary/Abstract: Deictic expressions aí and praí. Colloquial register, hedging and enunciative responsibility. The aim of this paper is to analyse the semantic-pragmatic features of Portuguese expressions aí and praí in context. Our study of these linguistic structures starts with the observation of their occurrences in a corpus of spontaneous spoken language that can be considered as a rather colloquial register of Braga's speech, consisting of about 80 hours of recordings. The analysis of aí and praí raises complex but interesting questions from the point of view of oral communicative competence, especially with regard to the acquisition of Portuguese as a foreign language. Following an enunciative-pragmatic approach, we highlight the multifunctionality of these deictic expressions. In fact, besides deictic values, aí and praí are also linguistic mechanisms of hedging, signalling in particular the weakening of the enunciative responsibility of the speaker.

• Details
• Contents