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.

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.

The present thesis discusses the history and meaning of the term and concept called grammaticalisation. Linguists usually ascribe the coinage of the term grammaticalisation to Antoine Meillet (1866-1936), who allegedly played a vital role in the history of grammaticalisation. It is also widely acknowledged that grammaticalisation was in some way 'revived' during the 1970s, and that Talmy Givón had an important role in this, as demonstrated by the popularity of the saying 'Today’s morphology is yesterday’s syntax' (taken from one of his articles). I show that Meillet wrote little about grammaticalisation and that he hardly ever used this word, and possibly did not mean for it to be viewed as a term / label. Moreover, the paper in question (Meillet, 1912) is basically a general introduction to a concept which he sees as a continuation of a notion with a long history. In addition, I prove that there are no clear links between Meillet and Givón’s work in the early 1970s. Despite the general acceptance that Meillet coined grammaticalisation, my thesis proves that it could have been coined more than once, and that it does not always mean the same thing to all users. I show that sometimes the term is accompanied by examples which others have used to illustrate lexicalisation, a term which some employ for a process that is seen as the opposite of grammaticalisation. I therefore advocate careful use of our definitions of terminology and concepts, and insist that we should define our notions, instead of letting examples do the work of illustration and definition. Finally, I question whether it is true that grammaticalisation is unidirectional. I research the history of the view that grammaticalisation is a unidirectional process. Grammatical relations can be expressed by different means – e.g. word order, content words becoming grammatical markers, or parts of words being given a function. I believe all these should be compared, in order to improve our knowledge of how languages change and why. I claim that they all represent sub-processes of a superordinate category which I have labelled supergrammaticalisation.