German-Portuguese Comparative Grammar: Connectives

	Object and objectives Targeted users Theoretical framework Data and methods Activities Cooperation Supervision of dissertations and theses Project team Bibliography Publications relevant to this project
Deutsche Fassung		Versão em português

 

Object and objectives

This project studies the syntax and semantics of connectives in German and Portuguese (with the emphasis on Brazilian Portuguese).

Connectives form a semantic class defined by the function of linking clauses. They include such units as wenn [when/if], oder [or], vorher [before] oder nämlich [namely] in German and se [if], ou [or], antes [before] or pois [for/namely] in Portuguese.

From a semantic point of view the links established by means of connectives can be subdivided into three main groups (cf. Sweetser 1990):

1. connections between states of affairs (temporal objects),
2. connections between propositions (objects to which truth values can be assigned),
3. connections between pragmatic options, e.g., speech acts (objects to which values of desirability can be assigned).

The connections in (i) will be referred to as temporal connections, those in (ii) as epistemic connections, and those in (iii) as deontic-illocutionary connections.

Within each of these groups the further distinction is made between four types of connection:

1. symmetrical connections,
2. asymmetric-static connections,
3. asymmetric-dynamic connections with an open result,
4. asymmetric-dynamic connections with a fixed result.

The connections in (a) will be referred to as similarity connections, those in (b) as situating connections, those in (c) as conditional connections and those in (d) as causal connections.

Combining the two classifications yields the following semantic typology of connections (cf. Blühdorn 2003, 2008):

(i.a): temporal similarity	(ii.a): epistemic similarity	(iii.a): deontic similarity
(i.b): temporal situating	(ii.b): epistemic situating	(iii.b): deontic situating
(i.c): temporal condition	(ii.c): epistemic condition	(iii.c): deontic condition
(i.d): temporal cause	(ii.d): epistemic cause	(iii.d): deontic cause

Both in German and Portuguese, connections of these different types can be established by morphosyntactic and lexical means.

Morphosyntactic means of connection comprise, e.g., participle constructions (especially in Portuguese, less so in German) and case constructions with an adverbial function (only in German, mostly lexicalised as fixed expressions such as eines Tages, den ganzen Abend, meines Erachtens, meines Wissens etc.). Lexical means of connection comprise prepositions and connectives.

In German and Portuguese, connectives are divided into two main groups – conjunctional and adverbial – according to their syntactic behaviour. The conjunctional group is subdivided into subordinators and coordinators, while the adverbial group contains particle connectives along with proper adverbs (cf. Pasch et al. 2003):

Conjunctional connectives establish syntactic connections between clauses. Adverbial connectives only establish referential connections; syntactically they are integrated in one of the connected clauses.

Planned publication: The results of the project will be published in a monograph giving a comparative overview of the syntax and semantics of connectives in German and Portuguese.

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Targeted users

The results of this project are primarily of interest to users specialised in German, Romance or General Linguistics, particularly in the fields of syntax, semantics, text linguistics and lexicography. Language teachers (of German and/or Portuguese as native or foreign languages) as well as the general reader interested in languages and linguistics may also find the project useful.

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Theoretical framework

With regard to the German language the description is mainly based on the reference works Grammatik der deutschen Sprache (GDS) [Grammar of the German Language] (Zifonun, Hoffmann, Strecker et al. 1997) and Handbuch der deutschen Konnektoren [Manual of German Connectives] (Pasch, Brauße, Breindl & Waßner 2003; also: Blühdorn, Breindl & Waßner 2004). For Portuguese the main works of reference are the grammar books written by Neves (1999, 2000), Gärtner (1998), Bechara (1999) as well as the handbook Gramática do Português Culto Falado no Brasil [Grammar of Standard Portuguese Spoken in Brazil] (2006, 2008, 2009). The comparison of German and Portuguese is modelled on Blühdorn (2001) and Ravetto & Blühdorn (2009).

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Data and methods

The methods used are mainly descriptive. The project does not follow any single linguistic school or theory. It aims at giving an object-oriented account which can be used for further investigations within different theoretical frameworks. The project is based on the available knowledge on connectives in general as well as on connectives in the compared languages. Rules and restrictions are verified with empirical data as well as with grammaticality and adequacy judgements of test persons.

For German the majority of the data to be analysed are taken from the IDS corpora and for Portuguese from the NURC-Korpus (Norma Urbana Culta), compiled by researchers at the University of São Paulo in cooperation with other Brazilian universities, as well as from the COMET corpus, created by researchers at the University of São Paulo. Further data will be taken from the Internet through freely accessible search tools (e.g. Google), in order to increase the text and discourse basis of the study.

The data will be explored in three steps:

1. the inventory of the connectives of both languages will be compiled,
2. the syntactic and semantic properties of the connectives will be established and
3. their usage in text and discourse will be described.

A statistical analysis of the data is not envisaged in the course of the project.

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Activities

Research visit by Prof. Dr. Eliana G. Fischer, University of São Paulo (USP), Departamento de Letras Modernas, to the IDS Mannheim (25/04 - 22/07/2006). Research topic: Final connectives in German and in Brazilian Portuguese.

Research visit by postgraduate student Andrea Rodsi, University of São Paulo (USP), Departamento de Letras Modernas, to the IDS Mannheim (01/07 - 15/12/2007). Research topic: Temporal connectives in German and in Brazilian Portuguese.

Research visit by Prof. Dr. Selma M. Meireles, University of São Paulo (USP), Departamento de Letras Modernas, to the IDS Mannheim (01/02 - 31/07/2008). Research topic: Negation in German and in Brazilian Portuguese.

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Cooperation

Main cooperation partners within the IDS are the projects Handbuch der deutschen Konnektoren (HdK) [Manual of German Connectives] and Grammatik des Deutschen im europäischen Vergleich (GDE) [German Grammar in a Comparative European Context].

Cooperation partners external to the IDS are the research group Gramática contrastiva português-alemão [Comparative Grammar of German and Portuguese] at the Modern Languages Department (Departamento de Letras Modernas) of the University of São Paulo, Maria Lúcia da Cunha Victório de Oliveira Andrade at the Department of Classical and Vernacular Languages (Departamento de Letras Clássicas e Vernáculas) of the University of São Paulo, Miriam Ravetto at the Faculty of Languages and Philosophy (Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia) of the University of Piemonte Orientale at Vercelli (Italy), and Marina Foschi Albert at the Faculty of Foreign Languages (Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere) of the University of Pisa (Italy).

Researchers in the field of connectives in German and Portuguese-speaking countries are welcome to contact the project team.

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Supervision of dissertations and theses

Moroni, Manuela. Modalpartikeln an der Schnittstelle zwischen Syntax und Prosodie [Modal particles on the interface between syntax and prosody]. Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere, Università degli Studi di Verona, Italien (in collaboration with Alessandra Tomaselli) (defended in May 2006).

Gutz Inglez, Karin. Conectores de causa e condição em fóruns de discussão na internet [Causal and Conditional Connectives in Discussion Groups on the Internet]. Doctoral thesis. Departamento de Letras Clássicas e Vernáculas, University of São Paulo, Brazil (in collaboration with Maria Lúcia da Cunha Victório de Oliveira Andrade) (defended in March 2008).

Rodsi, Andrea. Análise contrastiva dos conectores temporais do Alemão e do Português brasileiro [A comparative analysis of temporal connectives in German and Brazilian Portuguese]. Doctoral thesis. Departamento de Letras Modernas, University of São Paulo, Brazil (in collaboration with Eliana G. Fischer) (in progress).

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Project team

Hardarik Blühdorn (project coordinator) hardarik@ids-mannheim.de
Frederike Scherr (student assistant from 05/2006 to 07/2008)
Romina Barbera (student assistant from 08/2008 to 12/2009)
Liudmila Olalde (student assistant since 12/2009) olalde@grammatik.ids-mannheim.de

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Bibliography

• Bechara, Evanildo (1999). Moderna Gramática Portuguesa. 37^th ed., Rio de Janeiro, Lucerna. [back]
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2001). A codificação de informação espacial no Alemão e no Português do Brasil. Adposições e advérbios como meios para especificar relações estáticas. São Paulo, Humanitas FFLCH/USP - FAPESP. [back]
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2003). "Zur Semantik der Konjunktion als. Paradigmatische und syntagmatische Aspekte". In: Hentschel, Elke (ed.) (2003). Particulae Collectae. Festschrift für Harald Weydt zum 65. Geburtstag. Linguistik online 13, 1/2003. p. 11-53. [back]
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2008). "Syntax und Semantik der Konnektoren: Ein Überblick". Mannheim, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, manuscript. [back]
• Blühdorn, Hardarik, Eva Breindl & Ulrich H. Waßner (eds.) (2004). Brücken schlagen. Grundlagen der Konnektorensemantik. Berlin, de Gruyter. [back]
• Gärtner, Eberhard (1998). Grammatik der portugiesischen Sprache. Tübingen, Niemeyer. [back]
• Gramática do Português Culto Falado no Brasil. Vol 1: Construção do Texto Falado (edited by Clélia Cândida Abreu Spinardi Jubran and Ingedore Grunfeld Villaça Koch). Campinas, Editora da Unicamp, 2006. Vol. 2: Classes de Palavras e Processos de Construção (edited by Rodolfo Ilari and Maria Helena de Moura Neves). Campinas, Editora da Unicamp, 2008. Vol. 3: A Construção da Sentença (edited by Mary A. Kato e Milton do Nascimento). Campinas, Editora da Unicamp, 2009. [back]
• Neves, Maria Helena de Moura (org.) (1999). Gramática do Português Falado. Vol. VII: Novos estudos. São Paulo/Campinas, Humanitas/Editora da Unicamp. [back]
• Neves, Maria Helena de Moura (2000). Gramática de usos do português. São Paulo, Editora UNESP. [back]
• Pasch, Renate, Ursula Brauße, Eva Breindl & Ulrich H. Waßner (2003). Handbuch der deutschen Konnektoren. Linguistische Grundlagen der Beschreibung und syntaktische Merkmale der deutschen Satzverknüpfer. Berlin, de Gruyter. [back]
• Ravetto, Miriam & Blühdorn, Hardarik (2009). "Die Kausalkonjunktionen denn, weil, da im Deutschen und perché, poiché, siccome im Italienischen". Mannheim, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, manuscript. [back]
• Sweetser, Eve (1990). From etymology to pragmatics. Metaphorical and cultural aspects of semantic structure. Cambridge, University Press. [back]
• Zifonun, Gisela, Ludger Hoffmann, Bruno Strecker & al. (1997). Grammatik der deutschen Sprache. 3 vols., Berlin, de Gruyter. [back]

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Publications relevant to this project

• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2002). "Zur Negation im Deutschen und im Portugiesischen: nicht und kein, não und nenhum". In: Runa. Revista Portuguesa de Estudos Germanísticos 29, 2001-2002, Porto, p. 267-296.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik & Jürgen Schmidt-Radefeldt (eds.) (2003). Die kleineren Wortarten im Sprachvergleich Deutsch - Portugiesisch. Frankfurt/Main, Peter Lang.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2003). "Die Raumadverbien hier, da und dort und ihre Entsprechungen im brasilianischen Portugiesisch". In: Blühdorn & Schmidt-Radefeldt (eds.) (2003), p. 47-71.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2003). "Kolloquium Brücken schlagen. Zur Semantik der Konnektoren" (Tagungsbericht). In: Sprachreport 1/2003, Mannheim, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, p. 33-36.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2003). "Zur Semantik der Konjunktion als. Paradigmatische und syntagmatische Aspekte". In: Hentschel, Elke (ed.) (2003). Particulae Collectae. Festschrift für Harald Weydt zum 65. Geburtstag. Linguistik online 13, 1/2003. p. 11-53.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik, Eva Breindl & Ulrich Hermann Waßner (eds.) (2004). Brücken schlagen. Grundlagen der Konnektorensemantik. Berlin, de Gruyter, 2004.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2004). "Temporalkonnektoren: Einleitung". In: Blühdorn, Breindl & Waßner (eds.) (2004), p. 125-136.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2004). "Die Konjunktionen nachdem und bevor". In: Blühdorn, Breindl & Waßner (eds.) (2004), p. 185-211.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2004). "Veranstaltungsbericht. Kolloquium Konzessive Konnektoren und Konzessivität im Sprachvergleich". In: Sprachreport 1/2004, Mannheim, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, p. 27-31.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2004). "Semantische Flexibilität bei Temporalkonjunktionen. Am Beispiel von nachdem und bevor". In: Pohl, Inge & Klaus-Peter Konerding (eds.) (2004). Stabilität und Flexibilität in der Semantik. Strukturelle, kognitive, pragmatische und historische Perspektiven. Frankfurt/Main, Lang, p. 151-169.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2005). Forschungsstand und Perspektiven der kontrastiven Linguistik Portugiesisch-Deutsch. In: Blickwechsel. Akten des XI. Lateinamerikanischen Germanistenkongresses. São Paulo, Paraty, Petrópolis 2003. Band 3. Hrsg. v. Eliana Fischer, Eva Glenk & Selma Meireles. São Paulo, Edusp/Monferrer Produções, 2005, p. 155-160.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2005). "Da, weil und denn – como, porque und pois. Kausale und begründende Konnektoren im Deutschen und Portugiesischen". In: Blickwechsel. Akten des XI. Lateinamerikanischen Germanistenkongresses. São Paulo, Paraty, Petrópolis 2003. Volume 3. Ed. by Eliana Fischer, Eva Glenk & Selma Meireles. São Paulo, Edusp/Monferrer Produções, 2005, p. 161-167.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2005). "Quando, wenn und als. Temporale Konjunktionen im Portugiesischen und im Deutschen". In: Blickwechsel. Akten des XI. Lateinamerikanischen Germanistenkongresses. São Paulo, Paraty, Petrópolis 2003. Volume 3. Ed. by Eliana Fischer, Eva Glenk & Selma Meireles. São Paulo, Edusp/Monferrer Produções, 2005, p. 168-173.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2006). "Zur Semantik kausaler Satzverbindungen: Integration, Fokussierung, Definitheit und modale Umgebung". In: Studi Linguistici e Filologici Online. Rivista Telematica del Dipartimento di Linguistica dell'Università di Pisa (SLiFO) 3.2, 2005, p. 311-338.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2006). "Kausale Satzverknüpfungen im Deutschen". In: Pandaemonium Germanicum. Revista de Estudos Germanísticos 10, São Paulo, FFLCH-USP, p. 253-282.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik & Maria Lúcia da Cunha Victório de Oliveira Andrade (2006). "Tendências recentes da lingüística textual na Alemanha e no Brasil". In: Revista de Filologia e Lingüística Portuguesa 7, São Paulo, Humanitas/FFLCH-USP, p. 13-48.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2007). "Zur Struktur und Interpretation von Relativsätzen". In: Deutsche Sprache 35, 2007, p. 287-314.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik & Golubeva, Nadežda A. (2007): "Konzessivkonnektoren und ihre morphologischen Bestandteile im Deutschen und im Russischen". In: Das Wort. Germanistisches Jahrbuch Russland, 23, Moskau, p. 77-100.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2008). "Subordination and coordination in syntax, semantics and discourse. Evidence from the study of connectives". In: Fabricius-Hansen, Cathrine & Wiebke Ramm (eds.). 'Subordination' versus 'coordination' in sentence and text. A cross-linguistic perspective. Amsterdam, Benjamins, 2008, p. 59-85.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2008). "Epistemische Lesarten von Satzkonnektoren – Wie sie zustande kommen und wie man sie erkennt". In: Pohl, Inge (ed.). Semantik und Pragmatik – Schnittstellen. Frankfurt/Main, Peter Lang, 2008, p. 217-251.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2008). "Syntaktische, semantische und pragmatische Funktionen von Nominalgruppen im Deutschen". In: Convivium. Germanistisches Jahrbuch Polen 2008. Bonn, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, 2008, p. 287-320.
• Blühdorn, Hardarik (2010). "Semantische Unterbestimmtheit bei Konnektoren". In: Pohl, Inge (ed.). Semantische Unbestimmtheit im Lexikon. Frankfurt/Main, Lang, 2010, p. 205-221.

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Illustrations by Clara Steckel.
Formatting by Frederike Scherr.
Translated into English by Cheryl Lobb de Rahman and Tinka Reichmann.