A posição do elemento interrogativo que nas sentenças em Libras

Abstract

The position of WH interrogative elements in Libras sentences involves a complex process that includes their realization in situ or at the left periphery of the sentence, as well as a duplicated occurrence, meaning their realization both at the left periphery and in situ position simultaneously (Quadros, 2004; Nunes; Quadros, 2006). Based on this finding, this research investigated the position of occurrence of WH-elements in production data and the acceptability regarding different positions of WH-elements, based on the analysis of data collected via production and acceptability tests applied to deaf informants who are Libras speakers, while also controlling for properties of the verb in the sentences presented. Studies have converged on the statement that the most productive and natural word order in Libras is the SVO order (Royer; Quadros, 2019, and texts cited therein). However, phenomena such as topicalization can alter this order, resulting in, for example, the OSV order in cases of object topicalization (Quadros; Karnopp, 2004). Quadros (1999) observes that the natural order in Libras is SVO, and the orders OSV and SOV can be derived from this basic order, with syntactic and informational motivations influencing the use of these marked orders. In this sense, interrogative constructions, topic and focus constructions, as well as those with “heavy verbs” (Quadros, 1999), could exhibit an order different from the SVO structure. In order to identify the grammatical motivations that trigger the different positions of realization of WH elements in Libras, this research was directed towards investigating the type of verb in the analyzed constructions, focusing on the following properties: (a) agreement verbs, (b) body-anchored verbs, (c) directional verbs. Production tests revealed that the presence of verbs with agreement promotes the movement of the interrogative element to the left periphery of the sentence. On the other hand, acceptability tests showed that moving the interrogative element to the left periphery of the sentence was less accepted in contexts with verbs that lack agreement. The theoretical framework within which this research is situated is the Theory of Generative Grammar, specifically in its minimalist version (Chomsky, 2000; and subsequent works). This framework enabled us to interpret the various orders analyzed, as well as the controlled verbal properties, in terms of principles governing natural languages and parameters responsible for the unique features of Libras, particularly regarding the positioning of WH elements.