Preposição para: uma revisão sistemática de estudos sociolinguísticos do século XXI

Abstract

This dissertation, grounded in the assumptions of Variationist Sociolinguistics (Labov, 1972, 2001a, 2001b), investigates the variation of the preposition para in Brazilian Portuguese, considering the alternation among its variants para, pra, and pa across different contexts of use. The study is based on the assumption that linguistic variation constitutes a systematic and socially conditioned phenomenon, reflecting processes of language organization and change in use. The objective of this research is to systematize and analyze sociolinguistic studies conducted in the 21st century (from 2000 to 2025) on the variation of the preposition para, identifying theoretical, methodological, and analytical trends present in the literature. To achieve this, a Systematic Literature Review guided by the PRISMA 2020 protocol (Page et al., 2021) was conducted through the selection, organization, and analysis of studies investigating the phenomenon in oral and written corpora from different regions of Brazil. The results highlight the predominance of Variationist Sociolinguistics as the main theoretical approach adopted in the analyzed studies, as well as the incorporation of complementary perspectives such as Usage-Based Models. It was observed that the variant pra presents a wide distribution throughout Brazilian Portuguese, constituting the most productive and least socially marked reduced form, whereas the variant pa has a more restricted distribution, being associated with specific phonological contexts and particular regions of the country. The results also indicate that the alternation among variants is conditioned by the interaction of structural, social, and cognitive factors, reinforcing the understanding of language as a heterogeneous, dynamic, and usage-sensitive system. This research contributes to expanding the understanding of processes of linguistic variation and change in Brazilian Portuguese, while also systematizing the knowledge produced on the preposition para over recent decades.