The grammar, meaning, and usage of interfaces in functionalism: A Pragmatic Study

Abstract

This study, tries to analyse how the syntax-pragmatic interface plays a dominant role in the variation of the order of constituents in the sentence, particularly in the respective placement of the subject, objects, and verb, and according to the intervention of adverbs of different classes. This work aims to point out the similarities and specificities of the relationship between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics in different current proposals for functionalism. More precisely, the role of the Information Structure (IS) in the order of constituents is no longer to be demonstrated. Those transformations, mainly displacements, bring into play the informational structure of the sentence. It focuses on the displacements of arguments (subject, objects) and of the verb and their effects on the placement of adverbs. This study also discusses the possibility of an interface between Text Linguistics and North American Functionalism by resuming their basic theoretical assumptions, elucidating their points of contact, and illustrating their possibilities for theoretical-analytical approaches. To this end, the bases of both methods are explored, and research by Castanheira et al. (2021) is presented. In light of these clarifications, a research agenda based on the dialogue between Text Linguistics and North American Functionalism is defended.