The variation of the subjunctive mood in independent clauses introduced by the term “talvez” and in parenthetical clauses

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the variation of the subjunctive mood in independent clauses introduced by the term talvez (perhaps) and in parenthetical clauses introduced by que (that). The research is grounded in the Linguística Funcional Centrada no Uso – LFCU (Usage-Based Functional Linguistics – UBFL), which advocates, as a fundamental principle, that linguistic usages shape the structure of language and endow it with processes of variability. Therefore, we retrieve some assumptions from this theoretical approach, such as: the general-domain cognitive processes, the principle of maximized expressiveness by Goldberg (1995), and the token and type frequencies related to the linguistic context in order to explain the process of subjunctive mood variation. In terms of methodology, we are guided by the mixed-method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies (Cunha Lacerda, 2016).  The analyzed sample consists of 48 (forty-eight) recordings of the Português Popular de Vitória da Conquista – Corpus PPVC (Popular Portuguese of Vitória da Conquista) and the Português Culto de Vitória da Conquista – Corpus  PCVC (Cultivated Portuguese of Vitória da Conquista), in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Regarding the data analysis, the variation of the subjunctive mood can be explained by factors associated with general-domain cognitive abilities, such as analogy, rich memory, and categorization; by the principle of maximized expressiveness; by token and type frequencies; and by the hierarchical and schematic proposition in Traugott and Trousdale's perspective (2013). We also contemplate how the grammatical content of the subjunctive mood, within the theoretical framework of Usage-Based Functional Linguistics (UBFL), can contribute to an effective and more contextualized grammar instruction, using the language in use and the linguistic reality of the learners as a starting point.