CONSTRUÇÃO PSEUDOPREDICATIVA DE FINGIMENTO [Vrel+(X/Ø)+de+Predt] ↔ [atributiva] NO PORTUGUÊS BRASILEIRO

Abstract

This dissertation investigates variation among microconstructions and alloconstructions of the Pseudopredicative Feigning Construction (CPF) in Brazilian Portuguese in the current synchronic stage, understood as variant forms of attributing a feigned state, i.e., acting as if or passing oneself off as. The CPF is defined by the form ↔ meaning pairing [Vrel+(X/Ø)+de+Predt] ↔ [attributive], composed of open slots that may or may not be filled: Vrel includes the verbs fingir (to pretend), fazer (to make/do), dar (to give), pagar (to pay), and bancar (to pose as); (X/Ø) indicates the presence or absence of intervening material; and Predt licenses qualifying attributive referents. The study examines how morphosyntactic, semanticpragmatic, and discourse properties shared across microconstructions and alloconstructions enable their integration into the CPF network as variant forms, highlighting their similarities and differences. Grounded in Usage-Based Models (Kemmer; Barlow, 2000) and Usage-Based Construction Grammar (Goldberg, 1995; 2006; 2019; Traugott; Trousdale, 2013 [2021]), aligned with Bybee’s cognitivist assumptions (2010 [2016]), the multidimensional network perspective (Diessel, 2015; 2019; 2023), and Cappelle’s approach to variation (2006), this study posits that microconstructions and alloconstructions are competing variants forming horizontal relationships, primarily shaped by semantic associations among Predt slot referents, with varying productivity levels. Data were drawn from a web-based corpus representing formal and informal usage, covering eleven microconstructions: [fingir de+(Predt)], [dar de+(Predt)], [pagar de+(Predt)], [bancar de+(Predt)], [fingir-se de+(Predt)], [fazer-se de+(Predt)], [se fingir de+(Predt)], [se fazer de+(Predt)], [dar uma de+(Predt)], [pagar uma de+(Predt)], and [bancar uma de+(Predt)]. These were analyzed via (i) formal and semantic parameters, including intervening material, grammatical/person distinctions, pragmatic gradience, and semanticpragmatic polarity; (ii) cluster analysis of semantic similarities among referents; and (iii) covariant collexeme analysis, measuring attraction and repulsion among construction lexemes. Results indicate that the CPF permits insertion of intervening material with the particle -se in enclitic or proclitic positions, as well as the feminine indefinite article uma, extending the network with four subschemas. Third-person usage predominates in subjective accusative and/or judgmental contexts with disfavorable semantic-pragmatic polarity (Psp-). Combinatorial attraction between microconstructions/alloconstructions and referents establishes symbolic relations, mediated by semantic associations among clusters, via analogy and metaphorical extension, measured by type, token, and hapax frequencies. Findings reveal patterns of extensibility and generality, demonstrating the network’s capacity to expand through hapax productivity. Overall, the results support the hypothesis that the promotion of CPF variant forms (alloconstructions) arises from semantic compatibility among the construction’s combinatorial preferences, as captured by the constructeme.