Reinterpreting Dialectological Void in North of Brazil

Abstract

In the present article, we intend to present reflections on questions that are not easily answered when applying the Phonetic-Phonological Questionnaire (QFF) and the Semantic-Lexical Questionnaire (QSL). These questionnaires integrate the methodology of the Brazilian Linguistic Atlas Project (ALiB), a dialectological orientation project that aims to describe and map the variation and linguistic diversity of Brazilian Portuguese. We will focus specifically on the selection and analysis of questions used to collect data whose use presents difficulty when collecting. We limit ourselves to the presentation, reflection and discussion of questions 32 and 41 of the questionnaire applied by the ALiB. Question 32 integrates the QFF and aims to obtain the ‘abóbora’ (pumpkin) form. Question 41 is already part of the QSL and has as one of the expected variants ‘camomila’ (chamomile). The main hypothesis in the explanation of the facts is that there is pressure from social factors, not only from the classical factors, but also from the social evaluation of linguistic forms, as well as the historical-cultural factor, an integral part of the linguistic-cultural reality of any community investigated.