RESTRIÇÕES À ACESSIBILIDADE DAS CONSTRUÇÕES RELATIVAS EM LÍNGUAS DOS TRONCOS TUPI E MACRO-JÊ

Abstract

This paper aims at describing and discussing the restrictions on the accessibility of relative clauses in Tupi and Macro-Jê languages, seeking evidence to confirm the revision of the Keenan and Comrie Accessibility Hierarchy (1977) proposed by Dik (1997). The pioneering work of Keenan and Comrie (1977) selects essentially syntactic criteria for defining the restrictions on the accessibility of relative clauses, criteria that are easily criticized in the light of functionalist theories, which admit neither the supremacy nor the independence of the syntax for the determination of linguistic processes. Thus, the critiques of AH by Keenan and Comrie (1977) concern both empirical reasons some languages have no way of constructing relative sentences and theoretical reasons syntactic functions are not universally relevant. The analysis material is composed of eight Brazilian indigenous languages, studied from grammars and other descriptive manuals.