A sintaxe do clítico lhe no português brasileiro

Abstract

This research studies the syntax of the clitic lhe in Brazilian Portuguese (BP), in particular, the syntactic features of the clitic lhe, as it is used as accusative and as dative. We try to relate two innovations observed in the syntax of the clitic and in the pronominal features of BP Grammar; (a) the loss of the clitic pronouns in the BP (b) the dative clitic lhe as direct object. The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive and a theoretical contribution: (i) descriptive: as far as we know the BP specifically the BP spoken in Maceió did not receive a specific description about its distribution and its innovation as accusative clitic; and (ii) theoretical: analyzing the clitics in the Gerative Theory is a challenge for this thesis, as there are many proposals to accommodate such pronouns in specific syntactic derivations. In this analysis, an ambiguity in the interpretation of the clitics as Ds or flexional affixes is identified. The mapping of the DO is analyzed within the broader context of the loss of the preposition a of datives in BP. It is additionally shown that changes to the pronominal system in PB leads to the mapping of the clitic as accusative. Such changes make the system a more referential one instead of a casual one.