TRANSLATION

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https://ojs.revistasunipar.com.br/index.php/akropolis/article/view/7565/3818

LANGUAGE RESOURCES ACTING IN STYLE FORMATION: HOW DO THEY

RESULT IN INTERGENERIC RELATIONS?

'Master in Literature from the Postgraduate Program in Literature at the State University
of Maringá. Graduated in Portuguese and English at the same university in 2013.
Professor at the Federal Institute of Paraná.

taynaraalcantara@hotmail.com

Received in June 2019 Accepted in July 2019

Taynara Alcântara Cangussú'

CANGUSSÚ, T. A. Linguistic resources acting in style formation: how do they constitute

evidence of intergeneric relations? Akrópolis Umuarama, v. 27, n.1, p. 75-84, Jan./Jun.
2019.

DOI: 10.25110/akropolis.v27i1.7565

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to look for evidence of intergeneric relations in the text
"How to make Dendrobium flower?" - a priori instructional - from an investigation of
how the style of this text is developed. In order to make this research, the authors first
made projections about the linguistic structures conventionally expected to constitute the
style of instructional genres and then contrasted them with those used in the stylistic
update made by the author of the text under analysis. With this analysis, the authors could
observe that the linguistic resources used by the author in this update use the styles of at
least 3 different genres: (a) the most dissertative, (b) the most personal and, finally, (c)
the instructional genre itself. This observation corroborated our hypothesis that the
stylistic update constitutes the interstices of intergeneric relations.

Keywords: Intergeneric Relations; Style; Instructional Genres.

ISSN 1982-1093 Akrópolis, Umuarama, v. 27, n. 1, p. 75-84, Jan./Jun. 2019

CANGUSSU, T.A.

1. INTRODUCTION

After the dissemination of Bakthin's works in Brazil, several studies (ACOSTA--

PEREIRA, 2011; ACOSTA-PEREIRA AND RODRIGUES, 2009; BRAIT, 2005;
RODRIGUES, 2001; 2005; ROJO, 2005; SOBRAL, 2006, 2009, 2010; among others)
have criticized the fact that the concept of discursive genre has been "being interpreted in
a misguided way, especially when it leaves the university gates and reaches the
classrooms."

The complaint, in general, is that these interpretations are mostly linked to prioritizing
the more regular/stable aspects over the more heterogeneous and, therefore, more
unstable aspects of genres. We argue that, at least, one attitude can contribute to changing
this scenario and, consequently, to a better interpretation of the heterogeneous nature of
discursive genres: investing in reflections on intergeneric relations.

Considering that the "style" aspect of the genre is a privileged place for understanding
intergeneric relations and that this aspect develops from the "selection of lexical,
phraseological, and grammatical resources of the language," in this work, we propose to
look for evidence of intergeneric relations in the text "How to make Dendrobium flower?"
- a priori instructional - from an investigation of how the style of this text is developed.
To conduct this investigation, we intend to analyze the linguistic resources and structures
(syntactic structures, lexical items, etc.) used in the construction of the text, making a
differentiation between those expected in the style of instructional genres and those that
are not. To fulfill these objectives, we will, at first, project what is conventionally
expected for the style of this type of genre and then contrast it with the stylistic update
made by the author of the text in question.

The theoretical framework that underlies the analyses is divided into three general lines:
(1) when dealing with genre, style, and intergeneric relations, we mobilize the theoretical
assumptions of authors such as Bakthin (2010), Sobral (2006, 2009, 2010), Corrêa (2004,
2006, 2013), Possenti (1999), Abaurre et al. (2008), among others; (2) to address
instructional genres specifically, we rely on reflections from works such as Dolz and
Scheuwly (2010), Marcuschi (2002), Santos and Fabiani (2012), and Travaglia (2007),
finally, (3) when conducting analyses of syntactic, lexical, and phraseological resources
that make up the style, we seek support from grammars such as Castilho (2002), Neves
(2003), Bechara (2009), among others.

This work is organized as follows: firstly, we will provide a brief theoretical discussion
of the concept of genre, intergeneric relations, and style. Then, we present brief
considerations on social projections regarding the style of instructional genres and, more
specifically, the linguistic structures foreseen in the composition of this style. After that,
having presented the text to be analyzed, we move on to the analysis of the resources that
constitute its style, contrasting what we consider conventionally expected and what is not.
Finally, we present some concluding remarks.

2. GENRES, INTERGENERIC RELATIONS, AND STYLE

Starting from Bakthin's postulates (2010, p. 280), we understand "discursive genres" as

"relatively stable types of utterances," socially and historically constituted in different
spheres of verbal communication. In general terms, genres are defined in this way because
they are formed within the spheres of human activities so that when an utterance is uttered
in one of these spheres, despite being unique and individual, they reproduce already-said
things that reflect "the specific conditions and purposes of each one of them" (BAKHTIN,
2010, p. 261). There is, therefore, a character of regularity in genres (hence the use of the
word "type" in its definition), arising from this constant recovery of already-said things,
while there is a character of mobility (and hence the use of the adverb "relatively") arising
from the individuality and non-repeatability of utterances.

This dynamic between the "old" and the "new" - inherent in their social constitution -
gives genres the possibility of transformation, mutual influence between different genres,
which consequently leads to the possibility of the emergence of new (infinite) genres of
discourse (Cf. ABAURRE, et al. 2008, p. 169). Genres, therefore, are born, reborn, and
constitute intergeneric relations.