A variação dos pronomes "tu" e "você" no português oral de São João da Ponte(MG)

Abstract

This work deals with the pronominal variation between tu and você in the oral Portuguese of the Northern of Minas, specifically in the city of São João Da Ponte, taking as base the Theory of the Variation (Labov 1972,1994,2001). The hypothesis that guided the research was on the variation of the forms of address for tu and você will depend on the alternation between the styles (formal or informal) and on the type of the relationship between the interlocutors (more privacy/less privacy). The general objective of the research was to identify the motivations of the variation in the searched community, considering as the internal factors to the linguistic structure as the external factors. And also what the social- historical reason of maintenance of this treatment is, in one same dialectal area of the State of Minas Gerais where there is a predominance of the use of você. The sample is composed of 24 interviews made with informers of Basic Education, divided in both sexes, that had been selected among four age bands (7-14; 15-25; 26-49 and above 50). It is also composed of tests. The results revealed the high percentage of use of the form of address for tu in the close degree: in the sample of research (81%) and, in the applied tests, (98%), thus confirming, the initial hypothesis.