Relative clauses in spontaneous speech: a definition based on the language into act theory

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1984-8412.2017v14n2p2061

This paper presents a definition for relative clause in the context of Brazilian Portuguese spontaneous speech based on the Language into Act Theory (CRESTI, 2000). This theory defines the utterance as the reference unit for speech, i.e., the smallest pragmatically autonomous linguistic unit (the speech act). In this framework, the dependency relations established by syntax can be altered by informational structure, i.e., syntax is restricted to the limits of the informational units delimited by prosody, thus forming syntactic/semantic islands. This study made use of the C-ORAL BRASIL spontaneous speech corpus (RASO; MELLO, 2012). Based on the definition proposed here, the following conclusions were reached concerning relative clauses: (i) they show the semantics of restriction of a denotation set within an underlying reference set; (ii) they appear linearized within a simple or compound utterance; (iii) they occur in isolation or as sentence components within utterances.