A SEMÂNTICA DAS PREPOSIÇÕES: uma análise comparativa entre a perspectiva tradicional e a visão Linguística

Abstract

The preposition is a very productive word category in Portuguese. Although the speaker doesn't often have awareness of its use, it is possible to see, in situations of use in face of this linguistic element, a problematic scenario: words "empty of meaning", but which seem to act decisively in the construction of the meaning of some sentences /phrases/periods. This paper aims to compare the bases of Normative Grammar and the theoretical contribution coming from Linguistics about the meaning of prepositions. Therefore, from a methodological point of view, aspects of this grammatical class will be pointed out, both from the perspective of traditional/normative studies and within linguistic studies, aiming to build a bibliographical research with a qualitative emphasis through which it is possible to glimpse a satisfactory description of this grammatical item in relation to the semantic level. As theoretical foundation, on the side of Normative Grammar studies, authors like Cegalla (2008), Lima (2020), Bechara (2009) and Cunha and Cintra (2017) were mobilized and, from a linguistic perspective, Bagno (2012), Ilari et al (2021), Martelotta and Palomanes (2013), among others. As a result, it is demonstrated that the meaning of prepositions can find a satisfactory descriptive path based on the assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics, despite a better understanding of the linguistic use of this grammatical category, an attractive aspect to Portuguese language teaching. In summary, the semantic understanding of the preposition, in a way that allows the speaker/student to reflect about the use of these words in real communication contexts, favors the linguistic competence proclaimed in the official documents that guide Basic Education.