Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: MAYKON CARVALHO QUEIROZ

VARIATION AND MOTIVATION OF SIGNS IN LIBRAS: AN ANALYSIS OF TOPONYMS IN THE CITY OF MACAPÁ-AP

Libras. Toponyms. Variation. Signal Variation.

Studies carried out on toponymy and linguistic variation of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) are scarce, and when we highlight the state of Amapá, this is accentuated, a point that motivated this research. In this sense, this work aims to identify the urban toponyms of the city of Macapá, capital of Amapá, such as neighborhoods, squares and public and private establishments. Furthermore, the objective is to analyze the variants found in these toponyms in terms of linguistic level and categorize the entire corpus in relation to the origin of the formation of the signs, that is, whether they are native, hybrid or borrowed, and in their morphology, into simple and compound ones. The theoretical basis for this lies in the studies of Dick (1980) and Winheski (2024) who bring toponymic categories, and those of Weinreich, Labov and Herzog (2006), Luchesi (2015) and Coelho (2018), who conceptualize language as a heterogeneous system. The Libras studies will be subsidized by the works of Quadros (2004) and Nascimento (2010) in which they present Libras as having variation and the forms of loan entry into it. And also, Xavier (2014 and 2016), Ferreira and Xavier (2021) and Chaibue (2022) who investigate Libras toponyms, their internal structures and their variations. The methodology is quantitative-qualitative, with ethnographic and documentary aspects. The corpus was collected from the author's personal collection organized since 2014 and from the E-book of the “Libras para a Comunidade” project. Data analysis identified 108 places in the city with signs in pounds, of which 25% showed variation and the total number of signs found was 135. The results also revealed that the hybrid formation was responsible for most of the formation of the corpus of neighborhoods and public and private establishments, however, in squares and parks, native signs are the majority. This highlights the impact of Portuguese on the formation of Libras toponymous signs as a result of contact, at the same time as it attests to the resistance movement of the deaf community in relation to such influence.