Semantic reinterpretation of prepositional verbs in the light of the functionalist principle of iconicity

Abstract

This study investigates the decline of prepositions under the scope of the verbs assistir, obedecer and responder in texts written by university students. The objective is to present explanatory hypotheses for the decline of prepositions centered on the subprinciple of integration, linked to the principle of iconicity (Givón, 1995; 2001). We start from the hypothesis that the greater the semantic integration, the greater the syntactic integration. For this study, 119 data were extracted from expanded abstracts in the areas of Linguistics, Literature and Arts from 2017 to 2022, available on the website of the Integrated Week of Innovation, Teaching, Research and Extension event, at the Federal University of Pelotas. The results found indicate different percentages of decline of prepositions before the complements of the three verbs in the texts of higher education students: 67.5% for the verb assistir; 52.1% for the verb responder and 40% for the verb obedecer. In despite of the normative prescription (Luft, 2010; Cunha; Cintra, 2001; Bechara, 2005), the use of the language, even in situations of greater monitoring, shows a drop in prepositions, a prediction already recorded in descriptive grammars (Perini, 2010; Bagno, 2012). The results indicate the action of the subprinciple of integration to different degrees for the verbs under analysis. There is greater integration for the verb assistir and lesser integration for the verb obedecer, with the verb responder being located in an intermediate position. Finally, this article contributes to the description of a phenomenon of preposition drop, considering the principle of iconicity.