Uma proposta de articulação teórico-metodológica entre os campos variacionista, funcionalista e dialógico para o tratamento de variação/mudança: reflexões a partir da expressão do futuro do presente

Abstract

The literature of variation and functionalism, particularly in North America, has been currently trending towards understanding: (i) stylistic variation, understood differently depending on the variationist phase taken as reference to investigate this variation type, and (ii) conditions of production and reception of actual language use. Thus, these two fields approach issues related to the study of textual/discursive genres - sometimes implicitly, at other times explicitly. Regarding variation or change phenomena in Brazilian Portuguese, the literature on the expression of simple future tense shows paths not yet investigated that also evoke topics of genre analysis approaches to some extent. Facing this double-phenomena scenario, we propose in this dissertation a theoretical-methodological reasoning between the variationist functionalist, and dialogical fields to compose a transdisciplinary approach to deal with variation and change phenomena. Such proposal intends to promote a new reading key that is broad enough to include precepts of the three theoretical fields, especially to examine the expression of simple future tense and similar phenomena. The research is based on literature about (i) this grammatical phenomenon from a functionalist standpoint; (ii) the functionalist field that guides literature on this phenomenon; (iii) variation field in which we need closer consideration on historical aspects of emergence and development, which entails three different epistemological phases, in prototypical terms; and (iv) the Bakhtinian field, regarding some of its main philosophical, theoretical, and methodological aspects.We weave dialogue between the fields from the review of this literature and the problematization of some of its topics, considering points that can be combined despite the specifics with which they are approached in each field. The following concepts of discussion guided this dialogue: (i) scientific doing; (ii) subject and cognition; (iii) language; (iv) the relationship between language, individuals, and society; (V) explanations on linguistic change. From the articulation between the fields, we thus propose a new approach designed in this thesis of Enunciative-discursive sociofunctionalism. Among the aspects that characterize this approach, the following stand out: (i) linguistic uses entries within the scope of social practices, with the knowledge that they constitute a stylistic and distinctive practice; (ii) the concept that ideology is at the center of language use practices; (iii) circumscription of language study to discourse genres; (iv) election of genre styles as an object of study; (v) a revision of forms/functions of variation/changephenomena from a perspective that integrates genre styles; (vi) view that linguistic change follows a path of experimentation of genres and styles; (vii) multidimensional and multilevel methodological design (top down style). In view of this new perspective, we indicate how some facets of the expression of simple future tense can still be examined, as well as glimpse the possibility (i) of potentializing the study of variation/change phenomena, when these are taken into account with particular social dynamics, through the choice of discourse genres as locus of linguistic variation (/stylistic) analysis, considering that the relationship between forms, functions, and social meaning of variation is set in this context, and (ii) of production of definitions for the role of social practices meaning for the actual uses of language and, reversely, their role in the constitution of the language.