On the semantics of ‘de volta’: an exercise on counterdirectionality

Abstract

Within the framework of formal semantics and pragmatics of natural languages, the aim of this paper is to analyse the expression ‘de volta’ in Brazilian Portuguese, considering it as an event modifier of a particular type, a counterdirectional modifier. In order to do this, we develop our analysis using Neo-Davidsonian Event Semantics and the Semantics of Trajectories proposed by Zwarts (2005; 2008), allied to an analysis of event modifiers. First, we present the domain of counterdirectionality, its main distinctions and the proposal of Zwarts and Basso (2016), which also deals with Brazilian Portuguese. Next, we present several data related to the interpretations of ‘de volta’; in the following section, we develop our specific proposal for the semantic analysis of ‘de volta’. As a result, we propose a unified analysis of ‘de volta’ which accounts for its returnative, responsive, restitutive, and repetitive interpretations. We also present a review of the conclusions of Zwarts and Basso (2016) about ‘de volta’. We conclude this paper with some open issues.