Between ø and the overt form as a relational marker in relative clauses: system reorganization in BP

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31513/linguistica.2026.v22n1a72240

Abstract

This article investigates the alternation between the deletion (Ø) and the retention of prepositions as relational markers in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) relative clauses. Based on spontaneous speech data from the Recontato/2000 sample (PEUL Project), the research adopts a descriptive-qualitative approach, revealing that extralinguistic factors—such as gender, age, and education level—do not have a determining effect on the phenomenon. The results demonstrate that the variation is governed by internal constraints and is organized along a semantic-functional continuum. Null realization acts as a default structural value in contexts of high predictability and notional bleaching, with the categorical deletion of a and de, while the explicit form persists as an argument rescue mechanism in more dense syntactic links, such as com and em. From a functional perspective and based on diachronic evidence from the literature, the data indicate that the attested pattern does not constitute a grammatical deficit, but rather reflects a reorganization of the BP relational system driven by structural economy, verbal reanalysis, and the routinization of que as a universal subordination operator.
Keywords: Relative clauses. Relational marker. Zero marking (Ø). Semantic continuum. Brazilian Portuguese.

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Author Biography

Cecilia Mollica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Emérita da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Titular em Linguística da UFRJ. Pós-doutorara na UnB. Pesquisadora do CNPq na categoria PQ-Sr. Integrante do Programa de Estudos sobe os Usos da Língua (PEUL/UFRJ). Coordenadora do Mestrado Profissional em Letras - PROFLETRAS- durante 4 anos. Foi presidente da ABRALIN, Bolsista do Nosso Estado da FAPERJ. Foi Diretora da Faculdade de Letras da UFRJ. Diretora de Extensão da FAculdade de Letras. Consultora e integrante da equipe do Programa de Extensão de Alfabetização de Jovens e Adultos em espçaos populares/ UFRJ. Completou o Doutorado em Linguística e Filologia na UFRJ em 1989. Finalizou o Mestrado na PUC-Rio, em 1977. Coordenadora do PEUL durante quase duas décadas. É docente permanente do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro desde 1990. Tem experiência docente em todos os níveis de ensino. Pesquisa na interface Linguagem e Sociedade, com interesse em Teoria Linguística, Mudança linguística, Mecanismos funcionais dos usos linguísticos, Gramaticalização, Fenômenos interlinguísticos de contato na fala e na escrita. Linguística Educacional. Tecnologia e Inovação. 

capa v.22 n.1

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Published

2026-04-30

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2026): Contributions of Sociolinguistics in the 21st Century: Theory, Interfaces, and Applications – A Tribute to Anthony Julius Naro

Section

Dossier: Seminário Peul

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