Aí e então em expressões cristalizadas

• Main Author: Maria Luiza Braga
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Campinas 2011-08-01
• Series: Cadernos de Estudos Lingüísticos
• Subjects: Linguística.
• Online Access: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/cel/article/view/8637073

In this article I examine the forms “aí” and “então” according to the hypothesis of “Retention of Earlier Meaning” which advocates that certain more specific semantic nuances of the source construction can be retained in certain contexts long after grammaticalization has begun (Bybee et alii 1993: 17). I show that “então” maintains the time nuance in all its uses, regardless of their stage of grammaticalization; “aï” also presents a nuance of time in its unmarked uses, which seems to contradict the abovementioned hypothesis since this form is originally an adverb of space. The analysis of some crystalized expressions envolving “aí” shows however that the original space meaning can be retrieved in some specific contexts.