Diachronic study of the gerund in Portuguese

Abstract

This research project aims to expand the studies on Historical Inflexional Morphology developed by the Grupo de Morfologia Histórica do Português (GMHP), linked to the University of São Paulo (USP). The research object is the diachronic route of the gerund, from the Latin to the Portuguese of the 16th century. It will analyze not only the shape of this flexion, but especially its meaning. Regarding its form, it is permissible to say that the Portuguese gerund derives from the ablative case of the Latin gerund (amandM> port. amando). However, this information obtained in manuals lacks a more detailed study of the extension of the meaning of the gerund, whose Latin ablative form had initially modal value or, more rarely, instrumental (e.g. Errando discitur, "Errando aprende-se"), whereas the modern Portuguese form admits considerable semantic multiplicity. In order to conduct the research, it is convenient to revisit the authors of Philology and Historical Grammar, such as Maurer Jr., Said Ali, Nunes and others, and to search all that is possible about the gerund. If there are probable gaps, it is necessary to work directly with the ancient texts, from Latin to ancient Portuguese, in an attempt to verify and date, if possible, changes in the meaning of the nominal form. It will start from the collection, organization and analysis of these data in order to make the first generalizations, i.e., it is an eminently inductive method. It is also opportune the dialogue between the research and related areas, especially with Historical Semantics, which provides the subsidies for the understanding of the radicals and morphemes semantic evolution, and with Romanic Philology, whose comparative data can provide additional information to this study. (AU)