67
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese:
ypology and cons ain s
CHRISTINA ABREU GOMES
UFRJ (Fede al Uni e si y o Rio de Janei o)
Abs ac : The aim o his pape is o con ibu e o he discussion on da i e
al e na ion in na u al languages. Da i e al e na ion in BP shows ou s uc u al
possibili ies: VP[V SN1 PP]; VP [V PP SN1]; VP [V SN1 SN2]; VP [V SN2 SN1]. These
con igu a ions in ol e wo independen bu ela ed p ocesses: a iable posi ion
o he complemen wi hin he VP and a iable use o he p eposi ion in he da i e
complemen . These p ocesses a e independen in he sense ha he use o he
p eposi ion is possible wi h bo h posi ions o he indi ec complemen . They a e
ela ed in he sense ha adjacency o he complemen o he e b ends o a o
absence o he p eposi ion. We posi ha he ou obse ed con igu a ions can be
ea ed as a a iable p ocess in he sense o Labo (1972) and in es iga e he
a iable posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP and he a iable use o
p eposi ion. Fo complemen posi ion, we examine compe ing s uc u al
cons ain s such as size, s uc u al complexi y, and ce ain seman ic p ope ies
(ma e ial o pe cep ual ans e be ween complemen s) o bo h he accusa i e
and da i e complemen s as well as discou se le el cons ain s such as gi en/new
in o ma ion in he da i e complemen . Diach onic da a show ha he synch onic
con igu a ions a e he e ec o a p ocess o change ha in ol es he decline o
he IO DO o de . Va iable use o he p eposi ion is cons ained by adjacency
and seman ic p ope ies o he e b. Da i e al e na ion in BP exhibi s
cha ac e is ics ela ed o inc ease o abs ac ness ollowing he pa e n p oposed
by Heine (1981).
1. In oduc ion
The phenomenon known as Da i e Al e na ion o Da i e Shi cons i u es
a complex challenge in he sea ch o linguis ic uni e sals. Languages
exhibi wo al e na i e syn ac ic con igu a ions: he oblique cons uc ion
[NP V NP PP] and/o he double objec cons uc ion [NP V NP NP]. The
condi ions unde which al e na ion occu s and, in pa icula , he s uc u al,
mo phological, and seman ic ac o s ha cons ain he use o he wo
o de s a e opics ha ha e been explo ed in de ail wi hin di e en
heo e ical amewo ks, anging om gene a i e o unc ionalis , and
using da a om se e al languages (English: E eschik-Shi 1979, Ba ss &
Lasnik 1986, La son 1988, Jackendo 1999, G oe sema 2000;
Language Design 5 (2003, 67-78)
68 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
Manda in/Can onese: Liejiong & Pey aube 1997; G eek: Kakou io is
1995; Dolakha Newa i: Gene i 1997).
The aim o his pape is o discuss he linguis ic ac o s ha
condi ion da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese (BP). In BP, he
indi ec complemen o a e b wi h bo h an indi ec and a di ec objec
(hence o h called ‘di ansi i e’ e bs) can be p eceded by a p eposi ion o
he p eposi ion may be absen . In his ex he adi ional labels - da i e
al e na ion, da i e shi , double objec cons uc ion - a e used e en hough
he da a in BP do no con o m en i ely o he classical pa e ns exhibi ed
by he Ge manic languages and o he languages ha ha e " ue" da i e
shi .
Spoken e nacula B azilian Po uguese shows ou s uc u al
possibili ies: V NP1 PP; V PP NP1; V NP1 NP2; V NP2 NP1, as illus a ed
in (1) - (4) bellow:
(1) Ma ia deu o li o a/pa a Ped o
Ma y ga e he book o Pe e
(2) Ma ia deu o li o Ø Ped o
Ma y ga e he book Ø Pe e
(3) Ma ia deu a/pa a Ped o o li o
Ma y ga e o Pe e he book
(4) Ma ia deu Ø Ped o o li o
Ma y ga e Ø Pe e he book
These con igu a ions, no all o which a e p esen in he s anda d
language, in ol e wo independen bu ela ed p ocesses - a iable
posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP and a iable use o he
p eposi ion in he da i e complemen . The wo p ocesses, which we
examine in de ail below, a e go e ned by di e en cons ain s. Ou
esul s a e based on quan i a i e s udies (1) o da a collec ed in wo
samples o spoken Po uguese in he ci y o Rio de Janei o: he “Censo”
P ojec , ca ied ou in 1980, and he "T end" sample o 2000. The
pu pose o he la e sample was o u nish da a o he s udy o sho - e m
eal- ime change in p og ess (2).
Examples (1) - (4) a e su icien o show ha Da i e Al e na ion
in spoken e nacula B azilian Po uguese is di e en om o he
Romance languages, a leas in hei s anda d o ms. This di ec ly
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 69
con adic s he claim o La son (1988:379), acco ding o which Da i e
Shi is una ailable in he Romance languages in gene al. In La son's
e ms, he p eposi ion ha in oduces indi ec complemen s (a ' o' in
Po uguese) would assign Oblique Case in Romance languages, bu
S uc u al Case in English and o he Ge manic Languages. Howe e ,
e en hough s anda d F ench and Spanish appa en ly bo h con o m o
La son's gene aliza ion (see Kayne 1981, La son 1988, Demon e 1995),
e nacula B azilian Po uguese does no - i exhibi s an al e na ion
be ween he oblique and double objec cons uc ions. Fu he mo e, I can
see no p incipled basis why o "gi e Jim he book" in English should be
analyzed di e en ly om "da Ped o o li o" in Po uguese, especially
wi h ega d o syn ac ic p ope ies such as case assignmen . La son's
claim is simply an unmo i a ed o e gene aliza ion ha con adic s he
empi ical ac s o B azilian Po uguese.
2. Synch onic s udy
As shown in examples (1)-(4), he p ocesses a e independen in he sense
ha he use o he p eposi ion is possible wi h bo h posi ions o he
indi ec complemen . None heless, hey a e ela ed in he sense ha
adjacency o he complemen o he e b ends o a o absence o he
p eposi ion. Quan i a i e analysis o synch onic da a om con empo a y
B azilian Po uguese e eals ha dele ion o he p eposi ion is a e. As a
as o de o he complemen s is conce ned, he s uc u e V DO IO is he
mos equen con igu a ion o di ansi i e e bs. I is impo an o no e
ha since anapho ic di ec objec s (DO) end o be null (Dua e 1986) in
BP, adjacency be ween an indi ec objec (IO) and a di ansi i e e b may
be a consequence o he absence o a di ec objec .
2.1 Va iable use o he p eposi ion
Examples (5) o (10) illus a e all o he ele an con ex s o he a iable
use o he p eposi ion ha in oduces he indi ec objec o a di ansi i e
e b.
(5) E pede um comp o an e ao p esiden e do mo o né? Pede Ø o seu
Au ino, pede um comp o an e Ø ele (Censo sample - 1980)
And (you) ask he P esiden o he Slum o a eceip . (you) ask (0) M .
Au ino, (you) ask o a eceip ( om) him.
70 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
(6) ai dei a ele o jogo (Censo sample - 1980)
Then I ga e him he game
(7) Aí Jesus C is o deu p a ele uma in eligência (Censo sample - 1980)
Then Jesus Ch is ga e him in elligence
(8) o ga o o esc e eu coisas lindas pa a o pai (Censo sample - 1980)
The boy w o e beau i ul hings o his a he
(9) ensina Ø o po o eg as básicas de saneamen o (Censo sample - 1980)
To each people basic sani a ion no ms
(10) Ela le a a a gen e semp e Ø o quad o p a aze as coisas (Censo
sample - 1980)
She always wen wi h us o he blackboa d o do hings
Examples (5) o (10) show ha he e a e, in ac , h ee a ian s: s uc u es
wi h he p eposi ion a ‘ o’, wi h he p eposi ion pa a ‘ o’ o ‘ o ’, and
wi h he null p eposi ion. Da i e al e na ion occu s only wi h e bs wi h a.
In gene al, he ac ion deno ed by he e b in ol es a ans e , whe he
ma e ial o no (3). A compa ison be ween he da a collec ed in he wo
samples men ioned abo e e eals ha pa a is cu en ly eplacing a in he
spoken language. The p eposi ion a is he o mal a ian , mos equen ly
used in o mal w i en and o mal spoken language. The ela i e
equency o pa a in he Censo sample is 49%; in he T end sample his
igu e inc eases o 85%. The examples also show ha he h ee a ian s
can occu in bo h posi ions o he IO; mo e speci ically, he p eposi ion
may be absen , whe he o no IO is adjacen o he e b and adjacency o
IO o he e b does no necessa ily imply dele ion o he p eposi ion.
The synch onic da a show ha he e is no con ex in which any o
he ou a ian s occu ca ego ically. In o he wo ds, he e is no con ex in
which he use o only one o ano he o he a ian s unde s udy is
pe mi ed. Pai s (5a) - (6), (5c) - (9), (7) - (8) e eal ha he gi en/new
dimension o he in o ma ion con ained in he noun ph ase does no
ca ego ically de e mine which a ian s a e used. Example (10) shows ha
he a iable use o he p eposi ion a ec s no only human IO’s in he goal
o bene icia y ole, bu also complemen s indica ing place. Thus, dele ion
o he p eposi ion can occu in BP e en when he p eposi ional ph ase is
no he ecipien (4).
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 71
Examples (11)-(12) below exhibi sen ences wi h ligh e bs (da ‘gi e’ +
NP) and a human indi ec complemen . These e bs a e seman ically
emp y and o m a compound wi h he ollowing NP. The da a in (11) we e
collec ed in Censo sample. They show he ca ego ical use o p eposi ion
a. Bu he da a in (12), collec ed mo e ecen ly in he T end sample, show
he sp ead o a ia ion o a con ex ha exhibi ed ca ego ical p esence o
he p eposi ion a in he pas . They a e submi ed o he same p ocess
obse ed in examples (5) o (10) wi h ull meaning e bs.
(11) a. eles não dão mui a ên ase a isso (Censo sample - 1980)
They don' emphasize ha e y much
b eles não dão a enção ao caso (Censo sample - 1980)
hey don' pay a en ion o ha
(12) a. p a da con inuação Ø o abalho (T end sample - 2000)
in o de o con inue he wo k
b. não deu mui a inclinação pa a a pa e in elec ual (T end sample -
2000)
he didn' ha e much o a leaning owa d in ellec ual hings
c. que eu dou mui o alo a uma eunião (T end sample - 2000)
I hink mee ings a e impo an
As can be seen, he synch onic da a p o ide e idence ha oblique and
double objec cons uc ions o di ansi i e e bs wi h he p eposi ion a in
BP can be ea ed as a iable al e nan s, cons ained by s uc u al and
social ac o s. Since he e is no ca ego ical con ex o any gi en syn ac ic
s uc u e, hey can be labeled as al e nan s om a sociolinguis ic poin o
iew and he syn ac ic and seman ic cons ain s can be ega ded as
a o ing o dis a o ing each a ian . Quan i a i e analysis shows ha
adjacency a o s absence o he p eposi ion, while non-adjacency a o s
i s p esence. Adjacency is also he con ex in which he pa a a ian has
he high equency o occu ence. This dis ibu ion ein o ces he
assump ion ha he use o pa a is a s a egy o a oid dele ion, he
s igma ized a ian . The pa icle a is mo e equen ly used when i is
dis an om he e b. The use o p eposi ion pa a is also mo e equen
wi h human objec s and ull con en e bs. Fo mal s yles and highe
educa ional le els also a o he use o a (see Gomes (1999).

72 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
2.2 The o de o he complemen s
Assuming ha all o he obse ed con igu a ions could be ea ed as a
single a iable p ocess in he sense o Labo (1972), we in es iga ed he
a iable posi ion o he complemen wi hin he VP. We examined
compe ing s uc u al cons ain s on wo d o de such as size(5), s uc u al
complexi y, and ce ain seman ic p ope ies (ma e ial o pe cep ual
ans e be ween complemen s) o bo h he accusa i e and da i e
complemen s as well as discou se le el cons ain s such as gi en/new
in o ma ion in he da i e complemen . The da a collec ed in Censo
sample exhibi o e whelming occu ence o di ec o de (89%).
Diach onic da a show ha he synch onic con igu a ions a e he ou come
o a p ocess o change ha in ol es decline in he use o mo emen o he
da i e complemen . Table 1 below displays he equencies ound in
w i en documen s om B azil beginning in he 16 h cen u y.
Table 1. F equency o V OD OI o de
XVI XVII XVIII XIX
Apl/To al 19/40 17/28 11/16 29/39
F equency 47% 60% 68% 74%
Examples (13) o (18) display a se o dis inc con ex s:
(13) não em um ca a lá na I ália que endo da um p esen e Ø o Papa?
(Censo sample - 1980)
Isn’ he e a guy in I aly wan ing o gi e a p esen ( o) he Pope?
(14) ensina Ø o po o eg as básicas de saneamen o
To each people basic sani a ion no ms
(15)Eu não sabia que ocê ia pedi o dinhei o a ele”( Censo sample)
I didn' know ha you we e going o ask him o money
(16) Aí dei a ele o jogo (Censo sample)
Then I ga e him he game
(17) eu ala ia com o João pa a me da um emp ego melho Ø os meus
ilhos (Censo sample)
I would ell John o gi e me a be e job ( o) my child en
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 73
(18) Que da am condições de ida legal pa a o pessoal
Tha hey p o ided enough o a good li e o hem
The pai s in (13) - (14) and (15) - (16) show ha a iable o de is possible
wi h bo h new and gi en in o ma ion. Examples (14)-(17) show bo h
possibili ies o complemen posi ion wi hin he VP, independen ly o he
size o he IO. Finally, (14)-(18), in compa ison wi h (13)-(17), a e
examples o di e en le els o ph ase complexi y o DO.
Quan i a i e analysis (see Gomes e alli, 2002) e eals ha di ec o de
[NP V NP PP/ NP] is a o ed when he da i e complemen (wi h o
wi hou he p eposi ion) is bigge han DO (mo e han 5 syllables), is
mo e complex, and ca ies new in o ma ion. Ve bs o ma e ial ans e
(da o li o a Ped o ‘gi e he book o Pe e ’) also end o a o di ec
o de while e bal o pe cep ual ans e e bs (dize a e dade a alguém
‘ ell he u h o someone’) a o indi ec o de (6).
3. Fu he ema ks
The e is cu en ly a deba e in he li e a u e as o he s uc u al na u e o
e nacula B azilian Po uguese. One line o hough a ibu es ypical
a iable ea u es such as a iable subjec / e b conco d o a pos ula ed
c eolized s age o he language in B azil (c . Sil a Ne o (1951), Guy
(1981, 1989) Bax e & Lucchesi (1997) Bax e , Lucchesi & Guima ães
(1997), Lucchesi (2000)) , while ano he iew a ibu es hese same
ea u es o he ope a ion o a d i wi hin he language b ough om
Po ugal (c . Re ah (1963), Na o & Sche e (1993, 2000)). In his con ex ,
we e lec on whe he he si ua ion desc ibed in his a icle should be
asc ibed o a possible C eole o igin o Popula B azilian Po uguese o
whe he is i migh be he consequence o an in e nal d i . In o he wo ds,
should da i e al e na ion in BP be iewed as he esul o con ac o
Eu opean Po uguese wi h A ican Languages which di e om Romance
Languages in ela ion o he ma king o da i e cons uc ions (7) o migh
i simply e lec in e nal g amma ical possibili ies?
E idence om A chaic Po uguese (11 h o 15 h cen u ies) shows ha
some o he a ian s in ol ed in da i e al e na ion (p esence x lack o
p eposi ion and di e en wo d o de ) ha e been p esen o cen u ies in
he g amma o Po uguese. Elsewhe e, we ha e documen ed he lack o
p eposi ion and he p esence o he p eposi ion pa a in ex s om he
a chaic pe iod (8), as exempli ied below:
74 Ch is ina Ab eu Gomes
(19) "e daqui a an e em cada mês ele a eque e [ ] odolos o iciães em
p esença de seus esc iuães que lhe deçla em se eçebe ão mais algũa
cousa ou he ec a alguma despesa da que a iam."(p. 19)
and om now on each mon h he will equi e all o ice s, in he p esence
o his no a ies, ha hey decla e i hey ecei ed any hing else o i he e
was any expendi u e om he ??? ha hey had
Li o dos Conselhos de El- ei D. Dua e (Li o da Ca uxa), Lisboa,
Edi o ial Es ampa, 1982 ( ex s w i en be ween 1423 and 1438)
The da a we e no submi ed o quan i a i e analysis, bu hey pe mi an
impo an conclusion abou Po uguese g amma : he s uc u al
con igu a ions ound oday a e he e lex o s uc u al al e nan s o he
pas . We ha e shown, based on bo h synch onic quan i a i e e idence and
diach onic da a, ha da i e al e na ion is wi hin he s uc u al scope o a
Romance language. The al e na ion is be e desc ibed as a sociolinguis ic
a iable.
The si ua ion obse ed a he end o he 20 h cen u y can be
iewed as he esul o a endency owa d he c ys alliza ion o V OD OI
o de . We also obse e he sp ead o use o he p eposi ion pa a wi h
inc eased abs ac ness in acco d wi h he abs ac ness cycle p oposed by
Heine e al., 1981): PERSON > OBJECT> SPACE> TIME> PROCESS >
QUALITY. The cycle ini ially p oposed o explain unidi ec ionali y in
p ocesses o g amma icaliza ion can also be ela ed o inc ease o
abs ac ness in meaning. The a ~pa a ~ Ø al e na ion is a p ocess o
change in which a is being eplaced by pa a in he coding o seman ic
ela ions in a con inuum om [+conc e e] o [+abs ac ]. Besides
occu ing wi h NP’s ma ked as [+anima e], he use o pa a sp eads o
con ex s in which a was ea lie he only possibili y o was p e e ed such
as NP’s ma ked as [-ANIMATE, +ABSTRACT]..
No es
(1) see Gomes (1999), (2000) and (2001).
(2) The Censo da Va iação Lingüís ica Resea ch P ojec collec ed da a on he
u ban dialec spoken in he ci y o Rio de Janei o, B azil, om 1982 o 1984 (c .
Oli ei a e Sil a, 1996). The sample consis s o 64 speake s and is s a i ied o
age, gende , and le el o o mal educa ion. The sample eco ded in 2000 con ains
da a om 32 speake s. In bo h samples speake s a e dis ibu ed acco ding o
di e en le els o he social pa ame e s men ioned: a)- age: 7 - 14; 15 - 25; 26 -
49; 50 - 70; b) le el o o mal educa ion: elemen a y school, junio high, high
Da i e al e na ion in B azilian Po uguese... 75
school. The sociolinguis ic in e iews we e collec ed by ained ield wo ke s
using s anda d sociolinguis ic me hodology. The T end sample is s a i ied in he
same way as he Censo sample.
(3) - ma e ial ans e :
da ‘ o gi e’ (p o o ypical) - da o li o a alguém ‘ o gi e he book o someone’.
Examples: emp es a ‘ o loan’, ‘ o bo ow’, en ia ‘ o send’.
- e bal o pe cep ual ans e :
dize ‘ o say, speak, ell, alk’ (p o o ypical) - dize umas pala as a alguém ‘ o
say some wo ds o someone’.
Examples: ensina ‘ o each’, ala ‘ o say’, pe gun a ‘ o ask’, esponde ‘ o
answe ’.
(4) Mazu kewich 1984 p oposed ha wo con ex s -- one mo phological, and he
o he seman ic -- o he double objec cons uc ion in English. The
mo phological con ex dis inguishes na i e om La in o igin e bs and pos ula es
ha only na i e e bs pe mi he double objec cons uc ion
: a. Pe e old/* epo ed his boss he news;
b. The p o esso showed/*demons a ed us his new me hods;
c. Paul go /*ob ained his gi l iend a icke .
The e is an excep ion o La in e bs wi h wo syllables such o e and p omise.
The seman ic es ic ion pos ula es ha he en i y o which he heme is
ans e ed, ha is, he ecipien , should be capable o owne ship. Places canno
exe cise owne ship:
a.*I sen a le e o England/ * Pe e opened he old lady a doo .
Bu i we eplace England by Helen we ge :
b. I sen Helen a le e .
In he a sen ences, he IO indica es a change o posi ion and no o possesso
while Helen implies bo h. MAZURKEWICH,I. (1984) The acquisi ion o he
da i e al e na ion by second language lea ne s and linguis ic heo y, Language
Lea ning 34, p.91-109. Acho que odos es es de alhes do inglês são i ele an es
pa a o eu a igo e podem cansa o lei o .
(5) Size was measu ed by numbe o syllables
(6) A possible explana ion is ha e bal o pe cep ual ans e e bs end o appea
wi h sen en ial objec s, which a e always in inal posi ion in he VP.
(7) Acco ding o Gonçal es (1996:47-48), in Ban u languages (Tsunga and Yao
(Y)) he e is no g amma ical ma k, whe he o no he bene icia y NP ha
co esponds o an oblique cons uc ion in Po uguese occupies he posi ion adjacen
o he e b: