The alternation of the pronouns tu and você in the vernacular portuguese of angola

Abstract

This article, the result of a master's thesis that investigated the alternation between the pronouns tu and você in the vernacular Portuguese of Angola, proposing its approach in the classroom through songs, aims to present some ways to understand the phenomenon of linguistic variation, with a view to eliminating linguistic stigmas that are still widespread in Angolan academic and non-academic spaces. Inspired by the sociolinguistic studies of Labov (2008) and supported by the theoretical contributions of authors such as Martelotta (2008) and Lucchesi (2006), among others, the research addresses the essential elements for understanding the phenomenon of linguistic variation as variable, variant, norm, and natural grammar. When it comes to linguistic variation, the research emphasizes the concepts of variable and variant, understanding that the former refers to the part of grammar subject to variation, while the latter concerns the elements that dispute the representation of the variable, which, in many cases, with one of them standing out more than the other, enters into the process of linguistic change. The study also considers the concept of norms in order to understand that any linguistic manifestation always finds linguistic support, since nothing in language is accidental. Despite the fact that, from a social point of view, this is true, there is no notion of right or wrong in language. From an early age, speakers have at their disposal a natural grammar, which is responsible for the acquisition of all the linguistic processes to which they will be subject: they absorb all the constructions produced in their social environment, with the aggravating and/or interesting factor of being able to construct sentences never before imagined. Research results indicate that if we think of language as a means of interaction between people, any language is subject to variation, because it will always be adapted according to the context, social stratum, age, territory, and subject who uses it.