Construções perifrásticas [começar + VP] no corpus da fala goiana

Abstract

This research aims to describe some constructional characteristics of the periphrastic construction [começar + VP], using Fala Goiana as the Corpus of analysis and based on some of the general principles of Construction Grammar. It seeks to understand the properties of this construction, focusing on the description of some of its main syntactic patterns, semantic values, and discursive-pragmatic contexts of use, as well as examining the functional characteristics of the most frequent constructions. The analyses are guided by theorists such as Bybee (2010; 2020), Castilho (2020), Neves (2018), among other authors such as: Croft (2001), Goldberg (1995; 2006), Traugott and Trousdale (2013). With a survey of 218 samples of the construction [start + VP], the study seeks to highlight the intertwining between formal and functional aspects that constitute this linguistic structure. It is expected that the results will contribute to a better understanding of the pragmatic and discursive functions of this construction in spoken Brazilian Portuguese. The research adopts a qualitative method, seeking to interpret the meanings and patterns of linguistic use, the repetition of nominal forms, the tense and aspect of verbs, and also the metaphors involved in the interaction that speakers make in discursive contexts of oral narratives. The results ultimately show that the central object of the narratives is not the simple chronological sequence of events, but the inaugural moments that define the speaker's trajectory. Regarding the periphrastic construction [start + VP], we understand that it is not merely a grammatical resource, but a way of organizing narrative memory, based on inaugural landmarks that stand out as figure and ground of human experience. There is, therefore, a systematic relationship between language, thought, and experience expressed by the speaker.