DENOMINAÇÕES PARA PICADA E TRILHA NA REGIÃO NORTE DO BRASIL A PARTIR DOS DADOS DO PROJETO ALiB: UM ESTUDO DIATÓPICO E LÉXICO-SEMÂNTICO

Abstract

The history of Brazil is marked by a significant transition from rural to urban environments, reflecting profound social, economic, political, and technological transformations in our society. In light of this context, the present study aims to reflect on the repercussions that such changes have had in the linguistic domain, particularly regarding the semantic area of agropastoral activities. The main objective was to analyze, from diatopic and lexico-semantic perspectives, the denominations provided by informants from the Linguistic Atlas of Brazil Project (ALiB) in Northern Brazil, in response to questions 062/QSL – "What do you cut with a machete or sickle to pass through dense vegetation? and 063/QSL – "What is the name for the path in the pasture where grass no longer grows due to frequent passage by animals or humans?" (National Committee of the ALiB Project, 2001, p. 25). The investigation was grounded in the theoretical principles of Dialectology and Geolinguistics, drawing on authors such as Coseriu (1965; 1973; 1982), Rossi (1967), Brandão (1991), Chambers and Trudgill (1991), Ferreira and Cardoso (1994), Mouton (2009), Cardoso (2010), and Romano (2013), highlighting the relevance of these studies for linguistic analysis. Additionally, the assumptions of Lexicology and Semantics were employed, leveraging contributions from Biderman (1981; 1987; 1996; 1998; 2002), Isquerdo (1996; 1998; 2003; 2006; 2008; 2009; 2012), and Oliveira (2012) to interpret the observed phenomena. To complement the data analysis, dictionaries were consulted, including contemporary works such as Houaiss (2001) and Aulete Digital (2014); texts from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, such as Silva, Bluteau (1789), and Pinto (1832); and etymological works, such as those by Bueno (1968) and Cunha (2019). Furthermore, specialized works on rurality, such as Souza (1939), were examined. A comparative study was also conducted, based on the works of Santos (2019) and Fernandes (2021), with the aim of analyzing the information obtained in the Northern region alongside data from the Southeast. Regarding the research corpus, this study discusses data from speakers originating from the Northern region, considering the division between interior and capital areas, based on surveys conducted with 120 informants (60 men and 60 women), distributed across two age groups Group I (18–35 years) and Group II (50–65 years) from 24 localities (six capitals and 18 rural areas). The methodological procedure included listening to and transcribing recordings, followed by quantitative treatment represented through linguistic maps, totaling eight maps, with the goal of presenting a diatopic analysis of the collected denominations. Concerning the specific objectives of the research, the study sought to: i) examine the lexical choices of informants from the selected region, considering diatopic variation and variables such as gender, age, and education level; ii) investigate the possible motivations involved in the naming process of the referents addressed in the formulated questions; iii) conduct a comparison of the data obtained from questions 062/QSL/ALiB and 063/QSL/ALiB with studies on the same thematic area conducted in other regions of Brazil; and iv) analyze the interrelationship between lexicon and the social history of the investigated localities. Based on the study conducted, it is noteworthy that the data revealed a significant influence of diatopic and social factors on the constitution of the lexical repertoire of the analyzed region. It was observed that, although the Northern region exhibits prominent urban characteristics, many traces of rurality persist, particularly evident in the speech of informants aged over 50 years. This highlights how lexicon reflects contexts in which globalization and technological changes directly impact the preservation of local vocabulary. With the conclusion of this work, it is expected to contribute to the lexical, cultural, and social understanding of the region, as well as to assist in future research on agropastoral activities an area in which such practices have been progressively replaced by more modern tools and methods. Finally, the study aims to provide insights into the description of the Portuguese language in Brazil, specifically concerning the selected vocabulary.