Prefixos com contraparte preposicional: um estudo cognitivo construcional das formas complexas no português

Abstract

This dissertation proposes the repositioning of prefixation at the center of morphological studies of Portuguese, taking as its object the prepositional-based prefixes contra-, entre- sem- and sobre. These linguistic units are analyzed from a cognitive-constructional perspective anchored in actual language use. Starting from the observation that morphology has been historically marginalized in linguistic theorization—especially under the hegemonic role of generative syntax—the argument is made that prefixes constitute a privileged interface between form, meaning, and experience, offering access to the cognitive and discursive dimensions of the lexicon. Based on Cognitive Linguistics, Construction Morphology, and corpus-based empirical analysis using the News on the Web (NOW) database, the investigation demonstrates that the studied prefixes activate specific conceptual domains, metaphors, frames, and cognitive operators, shaping systematic networks of polysemy and socially motivated usages. The analysis shows that these affixes, far from being marginal exceptions, constitute legitimate, grammaticalized, and cognitively motivated constructions, revealing profound relations between morphology, cognition, and social life. Thus, prepositional-origin prefixation is defended as a symbolic and relational linguistic artifact, capable of unveiling modes of meaning-making and of inhabiting the world through language.