The semantic and pragmatic values of use of the negation construction "de jeito nenhum" in the journalistic discoursive domain

Abstract

This work aims to analyze and describe the use of the construction “de jeito nenhum” in the journalistic discursive domain. For this, we take the theoretical-methodological framework of Usage Based Functional Linguistics. In general, this phrase reinforces the negative value of the clause, putting emphasis on the utterance. However, we have not found any major theoretical expositions that explain the motivations from a semantic-pragmatic perspective. That is to say, motivations that could explain the discursive use of this construction. This reveals us that there is a gap in the literature, regarding the examination of the negative values present in statements with “de jeito nenhum”. Thus, studies are needed to broaden the theme about the semantic and pragmatic values of the construction “de jeito nenhum”. For this reason, we used Google search tool in order to carry out this work. We built a corpus of Contemporary Portuguese Language containing 20 texts from wide circulation journalistic sphere. Based on the set of data analyzed from the corpus, we found that “de jeito nenhum” usually occurs in contexts surrounded by high negative polarity. In the domain of journalistic discourse, this construction has a subjective character, insofar as it not only marks the speaker's negative position in face of a fact, but also reveals to the reader the impossibility of something.