Multifunctionality of the connector quando (when) in argumentative texts
Functional Linguistics. Adverbial hypotaxis. Semantic multifunctionality. The connector quando (when).
This research focuses on the uses of the connective quando (when) in argumentative texts from the journalistic domain, particularly editorials and opinion articles. The main purpose is to analyze the uses of this connective, identifying the semantic values it conveys and the factors that influence these uses. Our theoretical support is the North American Functional Linguistics, as outlined by Givón (1984, 1995), Hopper (1991), Matelotta (2011), Furtado da Cunha, Costa and Cezario (2015). This research is qualitative in nature with quantitative support, and the empirical database consists of written texts taken from the online newspapers O Globo, Folha de São Paulo and Correio Braziliense. The written texts consist of editorials and opinion that were published between June and July 2021. The results show that the item quando has, in addition to temporal semantics, other associated values, such as cause, condition and concession. It also plays an anaphoric role in some instances with a temporal value. The semantic extension of quando is favored by the mode-temporal correlation between the verb in the hypothetical and the verb in the main clause, the verbal aspect, as well as the content conveyed in each of these clauses and the communicative purpose(s) involved in the argumentative texts considered.