SUBJECTIVITY AND WORD ORDER IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE

This paper aims to demonstrate that the relationship between word order and subjectivity demonstrated in studies conducted in several languages occurs also in Brazilian Portuguese. Analyzing the occurrence of VS and OV orders in the speech of 12 informants whose interviews are part of the Amostra Censo (Projeto Censo da Variacao Linguistica no Rio de Janeiro, PEUL/UFRJ), we find that both the SV and OV orders serve as a strategy to convey subjectivity. Based on Givon (1985), we postulate that, since the SV and OV orders differ from SVO, the neutral order of Brazilian Portuguese, they can perfectly perform the function of highlighting portions of the speech that correspond to the expression of point of views, feelings and opinions of the speaker, distinguishing them from the other basic ideas conveyed by the canonical / neutral clause.