Preposição: uma categoria intermediária no continuum léxico > gramática

Abstract

From a cognitivist and multisystemic perspective on the conception of language, this article revisits the class of prepositions in Portuguese, re-discussing their concept and their traditional categorization in terms of form and function. The core of the discussion consists of a proposal to categorize the eleven most productive essential prepositions in Portuguese according to the prototype of the items, defined based on a matrix of features that combines categorical criteria (degree of grammaticalization), syntactic (transitivity potential) and cognitive (representation concrete and metaphorical space). In this analysis methodology, the most prototypical examples of the class are those that combine the greatest number of features in the matrix, while the most peripheral are those that present fewer features that define the category. The results obtained indicate a specialization in the use of the most peripheral exemplars in the affix function.