Uma análise da rejeição da gramática normativa ao uso do demonstrativo anafórico “mesmo” (e flexões) no Português Brasileiro

Abstract

This work investigates the normative rejection of the anaphoric use of the demonstrative “mesmo” (same) and inflections in Brazilian Portuguese, analyzing their implications and proposing a critical understanding of the linguistic norms that regulate this practice. The study aims to understand the origin of the prohibition and identify the factors that make it especially notable in the normative provisions of Brazilian Portuguese. Under a qualitative and bibliographical approach, the research first uses a non-systematic literature review on the linguistic item under analysis. Secondly, the analysis of the class of demonstratives is presented, focusing on the concepts presented by Castilho (2015), which clarifies the distinction between neutral and non-neutral demonstratives. The aforementioned path undertaken allows us to highlight that the anaphoric use of “same” is frequent in formal contexts, appearing in academic texts and other written documents. This phenomenon is discussed based on studies by Pereira (2013) and Amorim (2009), which demonstrate that the use of “same” as a mechanism for textual resumption has historical and stylistic precedents in the Portuguese language, since the colonial period. Finally, in dialogue with Faraco (2008), we discuss the limits of the “short norm”, an excessively rigid and dogmatic version of linguistic norms and the problems it imposes on the use of language. The study concludes that maintaining the standard norm without taking into account the concrete uses of the so-called Brazilian standard is limited to a formalism that does not meet the vivacity of current Brazilian Portuguese.