Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-06-02T19:23:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 priscilateixeiramatos.pdf: 9761014 bytes, checksum: 8fe33f83c4a9ec2cb868ad087060614a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-06-06T12:05:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 priscilateixeiramatos.pdf: 9761014 bytes, checksum: 8fe33f83c4a9ec2cb868ad087060614a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-06T12:05:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 priscilateixeiramatos.pdf: 9761014 bytes, checksum: 8fe33f83c4a9ec2cb868ad087060614a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-20 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Este trabalho investiga a polissemia e a gramaticalização do verbo "ver", buscando identificar seus diferentes usos. Além disso, procuramos estabelecer o padrão construcional que caracteriza cada um dos usos identificados. Durante a pesquisa, operamos com as hipóteses de que (i) "ver" desenvolveria, no decorrer do tempo, funções discursivas que percorreriam um caminho de crescente (inter)subjetivização (FINEGAN, 1995; TRAUGO l I , 1995, 2010; TRAUGOTT & DASHER, 2005); e que (ii) os diferentes usos do verbo estariam relacionados semanticamente, revelando polissemia. A fim de comprovar essas hipóteses, foi realizada uma pesquisa sincrônica, que considerou a distribuição e a frequência de uso (BYBEE, 2003; VITRAL, 2006; MARTELOTTA, 2009) do verbo "ver" no português contemporâneo, mais especificamente no dialeto mineiro. Para isso, utilizamos o corpus do projeto Mineirês: a construção de um dialeto, que recobre as cidades de Belo Horizonte, Arceburgo, Mariana, Ouro Preto, Piranga e São João da Ponte. A partir da análise dos dados, foi comprovado que "ver" desenvolveu-se de um uso [- subjetivo], baseado na percepção sensorial, para usos [+ subjetivos], relacionados à percepção cognitiva. Foram, ainda, identificados outros usos [+ (inter)subjetivos], dentre os quais se destacam marcadores discursivos. / This work investigates the polysemy and the grammaticalization of the verb "ver", trying to identify the different uses of the verb. Moreover, we tried to determine the constructional pattern that characterizes each of the identified uses. During the research, we assumed these hypotheses: (i) "ver" would develop, over time, discursive functions that would run a path of increasing (inter)subjetivization (FINEGAN, 1995; TRAUGOTT, 1995, 2010; TRAUGOTT & DASHER, 2005); and (ii) the different uses of the verb would be semantically related, revealing polysemy. In order to prove these hypotheses, we accomplished a synchronic survey,, which considered the distribution and use frequency (BYBEE, 2003; VITRAL, 2006; MARTELOTTA, 2009) of the verb "ver" in contemporary Portuguese, more specifically, in dialect of Minas Gerais. To do this, we used the corpus of the "Projeto Mineires. a construcao de urn dialeto", which includes the cities -of- Belo Horizonte, Arceburgo, Mariana, Ouro Preto, Piranga and Sao Joao da Ponte. From the data analysis, we could demonstrate that "ver" came from a [- subjective] meaning, based on sensorial perception, and developed [+ subjective] uses, related to cognitive perception. We also identified other [+ (inter)subjective] uses of the verb, among which stand out the discourse markers.

The present work introduces a synthesis of neocerebellar state estimation and feedforward control with multi-level language processing. The approach combines insights from clinical, imaging, and modelling work on the cerebellum with psycholinguistic and historical linguistic research. It finally provides the first experimental attempts towards the empirical validation of this synthesis, employing transcranial magnetic stimulation. A neuroanatomical locus traditionally seen as limited to lower sensorimotor functions, the cerebellum has, over the last decades, emerged as a widely accepted foundation of feedforward control and state estimation. Its cytoarchitectural homogeneity and diverse connectivity with virtually all parts of the central nervous system strongly support the idea of a uniform, domain-general cerebellar computation. Its reciprocal connectivity with language-related cortical areas suggests that this uniform cerebellar computation is also applied in language processing. Insight into the latter, however, remains an elusive desideratum; instead, research on cerebellar language functions is predominantly involved in the frontal cortical-like deficits (e.g. aphasias) seldom induced by cerebellar impairment. At the same time, reflections on cerebellar computations in language processing remain at most speculative, given the lack of discourse between cerebellar neuroscientists and psycholinguists. On the other hand, the fortunate contingency of the recent accommodation of these computations in psycholinguistic models provides the foundations for satisfying the desideratum above. The thesis thus formulates a neurolinguistic model whereby multi-level, predictive, associative linguistic operations are acquired and performed in neocerebello-cortical circuits, and are adaptively combined with cortico-cortical categorical processes. A broad range of psycholinguistic phenomena, involving, among others, "pragmatic normalization", "verbal/semantic illusions", associative priming, and phoneme restoration, are discussed in the light of recent findings on neocerebellar cognitive functions, and provide a rich research agenda for the experimental validation of the proposal. The hypothesis is then taken further, examining grammaticalization changes in the light of neocerebellar linguistic contributions. Despite a) the broad acceptance of routinization and automatization processes as the domain-general core of grammaticalization, b) the growing psycholinguistic research on routinized processing, and c) the evidence on neural circuits involved in automatization processes (crucially involving the cerebellum), interdisciplinary discourse remains strikingly poor. Based on the above, a synthesis is developed, whereby grammaticalization changes are introduced in routinized dialogical interaction as the result of maximized involvement of associative neocerebello-cortical processes. The thesis then turns to the first steps taken towards the verification of the hypothesis at hand. In view of the large methodological limitations of clinical research on cerebellar cognitive functions, the transcranial magnetic stimulation apparatus is employed instead, producing the very first linguistic experiments involving cerebellar stimulation. Despite the considerable technical difficulties met, neocerebellar loci are shown to be selectively involved in formal- and semantic-associative computations, with far-reaching consequences for neurolinguistic models of sentence processing. In particular, stimulation of the neocerebellar vermis is found to selectively enhance formal-associative priming in native speakers of English, and to disrupt, rather selectively, semantic-categorical priming in native speakers of Modern Greek, as well as to disrupt the practice-induced facilitation in processing repeatedly associated letter strings. Finally, stimulation of the right neocerebellar Crus I is found to enhance, quite selectively, semantic-associative priming in native speakers of English, while stimulation of the right neocerebellar vermis is shown to disrupt semantic priming altogether. The results are finally discussed in the light of a future research agenda overcoming the technical limitations met here.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary Copple / Modality, a concept for which linguists have struggled to come to an agreed-upon, comprehensive definition, has been the subject of many linguistic studies over the last several decades. The contemporary English modal system has a long history of semantic and morphological development, or grammaticalization, which currently consists of auxiliary modals that function with lexical verbs to express levels of obligation, necessity, ability, permission, and degrees of certainty. For native speakers of English, determining the appropriate contexts and form of a specific modal verb is second nature. However, grasping the contextual complexity of the English modal system can be difficult for English language learners. Deontic modals such as must, have to, have (got) to and should are often presented to English language learners as relatively equal in meaning and contextual appropriateness, which makes gaining a native-like command of these modals even more difficult. This study, on a small scale, describes contemporary usage through a comparison of similar studies and data from a series of sociolinguistic interviews with native speakers of American English. The participants range from the ages of 25-50. They were chosen from the local population of Manhattan, KS and have lived in Kansas for a minimum of 10 years. Through a quantitative analysis of the tokens, patterns of dialogic use will be extrapolated from the linguistic data. The research questions will seek to find established patterns of deontic modal use that in order to identify practical applications of usage-based research for textbook publishers, curriculum designers, and educators.

This thesis investigates the syntactic features, functions, and diachrony of a complex predicate called ‘the inceptive construction’ which is based on a grammaticalised use of the converbs ‘get up’, ‘pick up’, ‘grasp’, and ‘take’. The languages under investigation are Amharic, Argobba, Harari, Zay, and Selt’i. The data collection that was analized consists of elicitations, audio recordings, and written texts. The analysis shows that the converbs identify the initial phase of the event encoded by a following verb. The converbs are further associated with nuances like volition, surprise, and emphasis. The rise of such interpretations as surprise and emphasis appears to depend mainly on context, while volition is inherent to the construction. The languages generally do not show much variation. However, there is a notable difference in some co-occurrence restrictions. Moreover, there is a difference in the presence/absence of certain converbs mainly in Harari and Zay, which is clearly a matter of preference between individual consultants. Regarding the origin of the inceptive construction, collocation, frequency, and speakers’ conception of the action of the converbs are possible factors that lead the verbs to grammaticalize into markers of the inception phase. Only some traces of the construction are found in an old Amharic text from the 15th century. The converb is the main verb form used in the inceptive construction, although other verb forms are allowed which may take a coordinating conjunction (in the cases of Amharic and Argobba) and an iterative/simultaneity marker (‘while’). The Amharic conjunction =nna ‘and’ links the light verb with the reference verb in the inceptive construction, but is also used in causal(purposive) and conditional coordination. The criteria of tense iconicity and variable positions indicate that =nna is a coordinating conjunction in the former, but a subordinator in the latter. Lastly, the converb in Amharic is shown to become insubordinated, i.e. the main verb or auxiliary it depends on gets ellipsed over time and it comes to function as a main verb. An insubordinated converb is used in the expression of surprise/exclamation, interrogation, rhetorical questioning, wishing, and the resultative/perfective. The point is it is still possible to use the notion of ‘converb’ in the inceptive construction as this is a separate historical process.

O presente trabalho apresenta a análise de orações que contêm a preposição para acompanhada de verbos no infinitivo (para+infinitivo), iniciando orações subordinadas em discursos proferidos por alemães residentes em São Paulo, com o intuito de estabelecer se todas as orações, de fato, constituem a ideia de finalidade, ou se apresentam diferentes valores semânticos. O corpus é constituído por ocorrências retiradas de entrevistas com os referidos alemães feitas por mim. São entrevistas de caráter informal sem tema preestabelecido. A estrutura para+infinitivo foi utilizada em contextos semânticos que põem em dúvida seu valor de finalidade, sendo ambíguos ou apresentando desbotamento semântico. Esses outros sentidos, mais abstratos, indicam um processo de gramaticalização na língua portuguesa falada por esses alemães. A estrutura final na língua alemã apresenta variações: um...zu e damit. Além dessas estruturas, a forma zu+verbo no infinitivo responsável, segundo o Hochdeustch (alemão padrão), por indicar verbos no infinitivo, simplesmente, ou orações subordinadas reduzidas de infinitivo, também se apresentou em contextos que geraram dúvidas quanto à sua significação, sendo, por isso, considerada ambígua. Esse fato apontou para um processo de gramaticalização também na língua alemã. Por haver mais de um elemento na língua alemã traduzido para a língua portuguesa com o significado da preposição para, utilizei traduções (para o alemão) do corpus, bem como dados retirados de blogs alemães e jornais digitais alemães, a fim de estabelecer comparações para o desenvolvimento das análises. Este trabalho, dada sua natureza, pode ser uma relevante contribuição para a compreensão do processo pedagógico de ensino-aprendizagem da língua alemã enquanto L2, demonstrando que pode haver diferentes percepções semânticas de estruturas sintáticas tanto por parte dos alunos quanto dos professores ao produzirem discursos em L1 e em L2. / This work presents the analysis of sentences that contain the preposition to (para) accompanied of verbs in the infinitive (to+infinitive), beginning subordinate sentences in speeches uttered by resident Germans in São Paulo, with the intention of establishing if all the sentences, in fact, constitute the idea of purpose, or if they have different semantic values. The corpus is constituted by occurrences that came from interviews with the referred Germans done by me. They are interviews of informal character without a preestablished theme. The structure to+infinitive was used in semantic contexts that question its purpose value, being ambiguous or presenting semantic fading. Those other meanings, more abstract, indicate the grammaticalization process in the Portuguese language spoken by those Germans. The final structure in the German language presents variations: um...zu and damit. Besides those structures, the form zu+verb in infinitive, according to Hochdeutsch (pattern German), for indicating verbs in the infinitive, simply, or subordinated sentences reduced of infinitive, also came in contexts that generated doubts about its significance, being, for that, considered ambiguous. That fact appeared for a grammaticalization process also in the German language. For there being more than an element in the German language translated for the Portuguese language with the meaning of the preposition to, I used translations (for German) of the corpus, as well as data of German blogs and German online newspapers, in order to establish comparisons for the development of the analyses. The purpose of this work is to contribute in the pedagogic process of teaching-learning of the German language while L2, demonstrating that there can be different semantic perceptions of syntactic structures not only of the students but also of the teachers when they produce speeches in L1 and in L2.

A evolução dos estudos e pesquisas sobre a língua e a linguagem no Brasil, assim como sobre os estudos especificamente vinculados ao processo de ensino e de aprendizagem da língua portuguesa como língua materna provocaram, nos últimos anos, a reflexão e o debate acerca da necessária revisão dos objetos de ensino em sala de aula e consequentemente dos materiais didático-pedagógicos. É necessário considerar que a variação e a mudança linguísticas como fatos intrínsecos aos processos sociais de uso da língua devem contribuir para que a escola entenda as dificuldades dos alunos e possa atuar mais pontualmente para que eles compreendam quando e onde determinados usos têm ou não legitimidade. Essa compreensão favorece um alto grau de consciência social e linguística, o que favorecerá o surgimento de um desempenho sociolinguístico adequado às situações interativas de que participam, sejam elas vinculadas às práticas orais, sejam elas vinculadas às práticas escritas. Uma das formas de atuação consciente para uma abordagem pedagógica deriva da contribuição científica dos estudos sobre os processos de gramaticalização das intenções. Essa ideia baseia-se no postulado de Givón sobre a experiência humana ser simbolizada nas modalidades linguísticas. É o que propomos com esta tese: discutimos o processo de gramaticalização da dúvida a partir da categoria cognitiva de tempo. / The evolution of studies and researches about the idiom and language in Brazil, as well as about the studies specifically attached to the process of teaching and learning the Portuguese language as a mother language have provoked, in the last years, the reflection and debate over the necessary review of objects of teaching in the classroom and consequently the didactic-pedagogic material. Its necessary to consider that the variation and linguistic change as intrinsic facts to the social processes of language use must contribute so that the school understands the difficulties of the students and may act more punctually so they comprehend when and where certain uses are or not legitimate. This comprehension favors a high degree of social and linguistic consciousness, which will favor the emergence of a social-linguistic performance appropriate to the interactive situations they participate, whether they are connected to oral practices or written practices. One of the ways of conscious acting to the pedagogic approach comes from the processes of grammaticalization of intentions. This idea is based on Givóns postulate on the human experience be symbolized in the linguistic modalities. It is whats intended with this thesis: to discuss the process of grammaticalization of doubt through the category cognitive of time.

Com origem funcionalista, mas buscando por novos diálogos entre as teorias cognitivistas de diversas áreas do conhecimento, como a Biologia, a Filosofia e a Psicologia, esta pesquisa toma como alvo de interesse primário o comportamento linguístico diacrônico da construção o mesmo em língua portuguesa, considerando os processos de mudança por que vem passando ao longo dos séculos, desde sua origem no latim. Questionamentos decorrentes de um percurso de dois anos de análise de dados sincrônicos e de dados de dossiês investigativos do século XX conduziram-nos à necessidade de uma referendação histórica de maior fôlego de caráter diacrônico, com amostras do século XIII ao XXI. Também alguns achados nessas pesquisas anteriores (OLIVEIRA & CACCIAGUERRA, 2009; OLIVEIRA, 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2011) providenciaram evidências sobre a atuação de forças cognitivas atuantes na mudança dos graus referencialidade carregados pelos variados padrões funcionais dessa construção. Este trabalho, por conseguinte, visa ao estudo diacrônico do processo de gramaticalização da construção referenciadora o mesmo, cujo continuum unidirecional de mudança é posto em paralelo com os graus de referencialidade dos padrões funcionais com vistas a verificar possíveis influências mútuas entre os dois processos cognitivos. Além disso, especial atenção é voltada para o padrão pronominal da construção o mesmo, cujo uso é alvo de discordância entre os falantes, pois por alguns é considerada uma maneira culta e formal de fazer referência, enquanto, para outros, trata-se de uma construção deselegante. Com o intuito de verificar se há gramaticalização em processo, os dados são analisados com base nos métodos postulados por Hopper (1991), Heine, Claudi e Hünnemeyer (1991), Heine e Kuteva (2002) e Bybee (2007), cujas teorias são associadas a fim de que obtenhamos resultados que nos sinalizem os estágios de gramaticalização por que passa a construção em estudo, bem como direcionem a análise para o entendimento do comportamento desse universal linguístico ao longo das categorias cognitivas. Sobre referenciação, buscamos as teorias de Koch (2001) e de Marcuschi (2006), além de propor uma discussão sobre espaços mentais (FAUCONNIER, 1994) para que, enfim, associássemos cognitivamente gramaticalização e referenciação. / Originally functionalist, but looking for new dialogues between cognitive theories of various areas of knowledge, such as Biology, Philosophy and Psychology, this research takes as its primary target of interest diachronic linguistic behavior of the construction o mesmo in Portuguese, considering the processes of change that has been going on for centuries, since its origin in Latin. Claims arising from a course of two years of synchronic data analysis of investigative dossiers of the XX century have led us to the need of a diachronic survey, with samples of the XIII century to XXI century. Also some findings in these previous studies (OLIVEIRA & CACCIAGUERRA, 2009; OLIVEIRA, 2010; OLIVEIRA, 2011) have provided evidence for the action of cognitive forces acting on the change of degrees of referentiality carried by different functional patterns of this construction. This study therefore aims to study the diachronic process of grammaticalization of the referrer construction o mesmo, whose unidirectional continuum of change is put in parallel with the degree of referentiality of functional patterns in order to identify possible mutual influences between the two cognitive processes. Furthermore, special attention is directed to the default pronoun of the construction o mesmo, whose use is subject to disagreement between speakers. Some of them consider it as a way to make formal reference, while for others, it is a construction inelegant. In order to check if there is grammaticalization in process, the data are analyzed based on the methods postulated by Hopper (1991), Heine, Claudi and Hünnemeyer (1991), Heine and Kuteva (2002) and Bybee (2007), whose theories are associated so that we obtain results to signal the stages of grammaticalization by which is passing the construction under study, as well as direct the analysis to understand the behavior of this language universal along the cognitive categories. On referentiation, we resort to theories of Koch (2001) and Marcuschi (2006), and propose a discussion of mental spaces (FAUCONNIER, 1994) so that, finally, connect cognitively grammaticalization and referentiation.

Num arcabouço teórico funcionalista que prioriza o estudo da língua em constante mudança a partir de seu uso (HALLIDAY, 1978), analisam-se as alterações gramaticais e semânticas de um item lexical que sofre gramaticalização no português do Brasil. O objetivo mais geral é avaliar a diferença existente entre os modelos de análises propostos por Lehmann (1982), Hopper (1991), Heine, Claudi e Hünnemeyer (1991) e Castilho (2006), quando aplicados a dados das modalidades falada e escrita. O item escolhido para proceder ao estudo é o item-fonte adverbial FORA, que revela um percurso unidirecional no processo de gramaticalização. Evidencia-se que a essa unidireção subjaz uma rota de abstratização funcional bastante intensa que culmina com sua recategorização em item gramatical. / In a theoretical functionalist framework, which prioritizes the study of the language in constant change from its use (HALLIDAY, 1978), it is analyzed the grammatical and semantic alterations on a lexical item that suffers grammaticalization in the Portuguese from Brazil. The most general objective is to evaluate the existing difference among the models of analyses considered by Lehmann (1982), Hopper (1991), Heine, Claudi and Hünnemeyer (1991) and Castilho (2006), when applied the data of the spoken and written modalities. The chosen item to proceed the study is the adverbial item-source FORA (out), that discloses a unidirectional passage in the grammaticalization process. It is evident that to this unidirection implies to a route of sufficiently intense functional abstraction that culminates with its recategorization in the grammatical item.

Les périphrases verbales hésitent entre lexique et grammaire. Nous avons choisi d'analyser celles construites sur "aller", "venir" et "être en train de" sous un angle diachronique, de l'origine à nos jours. Ainsi, divers thèmes seront abordés : la question de la grammaticalisation, le choix entre auxiliaire et semi-auxiliaire, l'affaiblissement sémantique, la question de l'auxiliarisation...Les formes prépositionnelles sont étudiées, avec un souci particulier accordé au rôle des prépostitions en question. Nous interrogerons également le statut de ces formes verbales par rapport au système des temps, et nous verrons dans quelle mesure elles sont en concurrence avec certains de ces temps. Par ailleurs, nous nous demanderons si ces périphrases sont à même d'intégrer le système verbal français et, le cas échéant, si elles peuvent acquérir le statut de temps à part entière. / Verbal circumlocutions hesitate between lexicon and grammar. We analyze those construct on the verbs "aller" "venir" and "être en train de" under the angle diachronic, from its origins to the Present day. So, diverse themes will be approach : question of grammaticalization, choice between auxiliary and semi-auxiliary, semantic weakening, question of auxiliarization...The prespositional forms are study, which a particular concern granted in role of presposition in quest.

[pt] Este trabalho trata da motivação conceptual que levou os itens mas, porém, contudo, todavia, entretanto e no entanto, considerados pela maioria das gramáticas do português como conjunções adversativas, a passarem por um processo de gramaticalização. Apesar de ser discutível a classificação dos referidos itens como conjunções adversativas - já que, com exceção de mas, os demais não têm um comportamento sintático típico de conjunções -, considera-se o fato de que todos, de alguma forma, se tornaram mais gramaticais desde suas origens medievais até hoje. O processo de gramaticalização é entendido, então, como aquele em que tanto itens lexicais e construções formam-se em certos contextos lingüísticos para exercer funções gramaticais quanto itens gramaticais desenvolvem novas funções gramaticais (HOPPER & TRAUGOTT, 2003). O enfoque do trabalho está na busca dos elementos conceptuais que possam ter motivado o processo. Trabalhos como o de Barreto (1999) afirmam que a motivação da gramaticalização dos itens em pauta foi metonímica, por influência da presença de elementos de sentido negativo em posição adjacente à deles, no português medieval. A proposta deste trabalho é investigar por que os itens em estudo encontravam-se maciçamente, ao que parece, em ambientes que apresentavam partículas de sentido negativo. A partir da leitura de trabalhos como o de Vogt & Ducrot (1980) e o de Sweetser (1991), entende- se que mas encontrava-se nesses ambientes em função de uma motivação metafórica e que as relações contrajuntivas para cujo estabelecimento o item contribuía ocorriam proeminentemente nos domínios epistêmico e conversacional da linguagem. A mesma proposta de análise é estendida aos demais itens, que, segundo se verifica em amostras do português medieval, por funcionarem em prol da coesão do texto, eram propícios a serem empregados em contextos lingüísticos nos quais se delimitavam dois grupos de informação postos em relação. Essa relação podia ser contrajuntiva e, se não se encontrava assinalada gramaticalmente, era, ainda assim, depreensível através de uma análise das relações textuais que se davam no plano do significado lingüístico, em especial nos níveis epistêmico ou conversacional. Portanto, elementos negativos eram cabíveis nos referidos contextos e, com eles, também elementos responsáveis pela coesão textual anafórica. / [en] In this work I deal with the conceptual motivation of the grammaticalization of the items mas, porém, todavia, entretanto e no entanto, which are classified as adversative conjunctions by the majority of the Portuguese Grammars. Though such classification is very discussable - for all of these items but mas present nontypically- conjunctional syntactical behavior - we consider the fact that all of the items cited above have become more grammatical in some manner since their medieval origins until the present days. Hence, the grammaticalization process is understood as that one in which the lexical items and constructions come in certain linguistic contexts to serve grammatical functions or how grammatical items develop new grammatical functions (HOPPER & TRAUGOTT, 2003). This work focuses the quest for the conceptual elements which could have motivated this process. Works such as Barreto´s (1999) state that the motivation for the grammaticalization of the items being studied in this text was a metonymic one, carried out by the influence of semantically negative elements which appeared next to them in the Medieval Portuguese. The objective of my work is to investigate why these items were massively found, as it seems, in contexts with negative-sense particles. From the reading of works such as Vogt´s & Ducrot´s (1980) and Sweetser´s (1991), I understand that mas was found in such contexts due to a metaphoric motivation and that the adversative relation for whose establishment it contributed occurred mainly within the epistemic domain of language. This very analysis is extended to the other items, which, according to what can be verified through the analysis of samples of the Medieval Portuguese, had the tendency of being used in contexts in which two groups of linguistic information, put into an adversative relation, were delimited, contributing for the text cohesion. This adversative relation, if not grammatically marked, was, even though, inferrible through the analysis of the textual relations which took place in the linguistic meaning plain, especially at the epistemic level. Thus, negative elements were possible in these contexts and with them, also, the elements responsible for the textual cohesion.