Resumo

CECOTE STEIN, Cirineu. Prosodic manifestation aspects related to the cognitive activation processes in portuguese. Ciênc. cogn. [online]. 2005, vol.5, n.1, pp.2-18. ISSN 1806-5821.

The cognitive activation of a term, or its non-activation, is directly connected to the notion of focus. Traditionally, it is assumed that a term, which is marked by prosodic prominence, is in focus, especially by the elevation of the melodic contour (Fo). This characterizes new information inserted in the discourse context. Using a natural corpus, this article aims to analyze the focus manifestation on the basis of the contrast between the judgment realized by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, who listened to conversational segments, and the effective prosodic marks of these same segments. This last procedure was realized with the aid of prosodic analysis software. The results obtained showed that: a) the prosodic prominence is not a necessary indication of focus; b) the focus activation in a second discourse occurrence is possible; c) activation can be related to semantic contiguity; d) there is focus activation by metaphoric extension. The data evidenced aspects related to the duration of the working memory as well. © Ciências & Cognição 2005; Vol. 05: 02-18.

Palavras-chave : cognitive activation; focus; prosody; prosodic prominence.

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