Expressivity in Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract This chapter investigates expressive structures and phenomena in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). It begins with the lexical properties of expressivity in BP, such as which semantic fields participate in expressive phenomena (section 44.1). Section 44.2 investigates expressive modification in BP, focusing on the structure ‘DP EI de NP’, such as ‘essa bosta de TV’ (lit. this shit of TV), and also on the ‘foda’ (fuck) and the structure ‘de(o) EI’, such as ‘do caralho’ (lit. from the dick). Section 44.3 addresses expressive intensification, firstly in the verbal domain, with ‘pra EI’, such as ‘pra caralho’ (lit. to/for the dick), and then in the nominal domain, with ‘puta’ (lit. whore). Expressive predication is explored in Section 44.4, focusing first on expressions which target single individuals and then on slurs. Section 44.5 deals with expressive meaning and politeness in BP, and Section 44.6 presents topics which deserve further investigation.