Norm and Variation - 1st semester
Code
722131104
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Linguística
Credits
10
Teacher in charge
Maria Teresa Brocardo
Weekly hours
3 letivas + 1 tutorial
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
1. Understand the relativity of the concept of norm.
2. Identify the most relevant conditioning factors related to linguistic variation.
3. Be acquainted with the rules of Portuguese orthography and identify their criteria.
4. Identify variant features of European Portuguese, their conditioning factors (geographic, social, stylistic) and to discuss their treatment within a linguistic revision and consultancy perspective.
5. Recognise some of the main distinctive features of Portuguese national varieties and discuss their treatment within the same perspective.
Prerequisites
n/a
Subject matter
1. General and introductory topics
Language variation (a characteristic inherent to human natural languages) versus linguistic standardization (related to non-linguistic factors).
Definition, recognition and importance of linguistic norm(s).
Correctness and style accuracy.
Language prejudice.
2. Linguistic variation in Portuguese
European Portuguese variation areas.
Linguistic variables related to more specific factors (dialect, sociolect, style) and more widespread variables.
Some distinctive features of Portuguese national varieties.
3. Grammar topics
Identification of critical or unstable areas of Portuguese.
Description and characterization of some of these linguistic uses.
Strategies design for linguistic revision and consultancy.
4. Orthography topics
Writing systems.
Levels of representation in alphabetic phonographic systems.
Framing, criteria and characterization of the Portuguese orthography.
5. The standardization of Portuguese some discussion topics
Standardization and language policy institutional and diffuse linguistic authorities.
Purist and flexible attitudes towards normative prescriptions.
Discussion of the role of linguistics in contributing to normative perspectives.
Bibliography
Milroy, J. & L. Milroy (19912) Authority in Language. Investigating Language Prescription and Standardisation. London: Routledge
Móia, T. (2010) Expressões de Medição Temporal: Norma, Variação e Desvio. In XXV Encontro Nacional da Associação Portuguesa de Linguística. Textos Selecionados. Porto: APL, pp. 623-641
Peres, J. A. e T. Móia (1995) Áreas Críticas da Língua Portuguesa. Lisboa: Caminho
Raposo, E. P. et al. (orgs.) (2013) Gramática do Português. 2 vols. Lisboa: FCG
Veloso, J. (2005) A língua na escrita e a escrita da língua. Algumas considerações gerais sobre transparência e opacidade fonémicas na escrita do português e outras questões. In Da Investigação às Práticas. Estudos de Natureza Educacional. Lisboa: ESE de Lisboa. Vol. VI, Nº 1, pp. 49-69
Vários recursos em linha, entre os quais: Portal da Língua Portuguesa http://www.portaldalinguaportuguesa.org/main.html
Teaching method
This is a course seminar, with more expositive and more practical sessions. Students must participate on a regular basis in the seminar sessions with the presentation and discussion of course topics, papers, data collection and analysis, etc.
Evaluation method
Participation in the seminar sessions, with several tasks, as described above (40%); 1 paper, prepared under close supervision, and its oral presentation (60%). The paper can be improved after its presentation and discussion.