O uso de corpus metalinguístico na construção de parâmetros de escrita para identificação de perfis de redatores oitocentistas

Abstract

This article describes the prescription of the Portuguese graphic standard for Brazilian grammarians in the second half of the 19th century, with the aim of recognizing, in this metalinguistic knowledge, what the ideals of writing were. For the period, the etymological principle present in consonant graphemes is considered as a prestige value. Looking at metalinguistic texts would be the possibility of capturing this value and ascertaining to what extent it was present in graphic practices. For this, it was necessary to recognize testimonies that were representative of the period, region and social group, as well as compare the transmission in each grammar, in at least 3 editions, as a way to observe the consistency of the prescriptions at a time when there was still no uniform spelling for Portuguese language writers and a kind of “usual spelling” predominated. Finally, the results point to a consensus in the prescription of more usual forms and a greater detailing by the grammarians of the scientific current. The comparison between the list of etymological graphemes presented in the studied grammars and the graphemes identified in the uses of well-known illustrated writers in the 19th century is an important parameter for written scholarship.