Um estudo do uso de operadores argumentativos no gênero editorial de jornal

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of argumentative operators in the constructions of statements in newspaper editorials, presenting them as correspondents to the classical rhetoric. In order to do such, we aimed at identifying: a) which are the most used argumentative operators in the corpus which was selected, and what is their frequency of use; b) verify if the occurrence of these connectors in the editorial genre of the newspaper point to different usages from those listed by literature dealing with the subject; c) verify how these operators can function as a resource in the construction of the persuasive discourse. The corpus of this research, of qualitative and quantitative nature, is made up of 78 editorials from three newspapers: Folha de São Paulo, Estado de Minas Gerais and O Globo. The analysis is based on the theory of Ducrot (1989), which states that the effect produced by the argumentative relations is in the semantic structure itself; this is so, because Ducrot states that an argument that aims at pointing the reader/hearer to a certain conclusion, happens through the use of morphemes that lead the arguments to a larger or smaller relation of force in order to reach a certain conclusion. The studies of Koch (1984) were also used when she states that, in the interaction process through language, the adhesion of the interlocutor is sought for; she also states that, there are mechanisms in the language, which can be used in the structuring of the text, in order to direct the argumentation. For the argumentation analysis, we used as a complementary basis the studies of Perelman & Olbrecths-Tyteca (1999), which state that the written argumentative discourse is produced with the intention of obtaining adhesion of an interlocutor. The considerations carried out, show that the use of argumentative operators can make argumentation stronger in newspaper editorials, contributing to persuasion. We verified that 133 operators were used but only 09 are the most frequent: mas, e, como, já, se, apenas, também, ainda, pois; among these, e, também, ainda which add arguments and the operator mas, which opposes arguments. The use of these operators and of others which do not occur with such frequency such as: agora, além, até, é que, embora, mais de, mais do que , porém, portanto, quase, segundo, só, mesmo, allow for the understanding of some significant aspects of argumentation in editorials. The basic function of the language operators in editorials is to add and counterwork arguments. We also listed the types of arguments introduced by the operators in the editorials and verified that those which are most frequent are the pragmatic arguments, by means of illustration, compatibility/incompatibility and by means of definition, in this order. We hope that the analysis carried out will permit the interlocutor to recognize discursive strategies, which are used in newspaper editorials, as well as their subjacent intention.