Fraseologism and Linguistic Taboo in Denominations for Diabo in the Northeast of Brazil

Abstract

This article analyzes phraseological units and linguistic taboos present in the linguistic  repertoire of Portuguese language speakers from the Northeast of Brazil when naming the lexical item diabo (devil). The informants were equally distributed between both sexes in two  age groups, a selection made in accordance to the criteria of Contemporary Dialectology.  Data were collected from surveys of the Linguistic Atlas of Brazil (Atlas Linguístico do Brasil -  ALiB) project in cities in three states of the Northeast of Brazil: Alagoas, Pernambuco  and Maranhão. Based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Multidimensional  Geolinguistics, the first question of the Semantic-Lexical Questionnaire concerning the  semantic area of religion and beliefs was investigated in order to verify the phraseological units and linguistic taboos present in the responses of the informants, such as: anjo mau (evil angel), besta fera (wild beast), bicho preto (black beast), bicho ruim (evil beast), coisa ruim (evil creature), inimigo atentado (mischievous enemy), príncipe do céu (prince of heaven). The study has shown the presence of phraseologisms and linguistic taboos that could be related to myths and superstitions arising from the religious beliefs of the speakers.