O uso de vírgulas durante manuscritos escolares em construção: um estudo sobre suas ocorrências e comentários espontâneos verbalizados por alunos do 4º ano do ensino fundamental

Abstract

In addition to the prosodic function, many studies currently approach the punctuation system as a phenomenon made up of various graphic forms that act at different levels (e.g. the word, the sentence and the text), relating it to syntactic organization, the semantic organization of written language and enunciation. This paper is part of this set of reflections and seeks to understand, from a linguistic-enunciative approach, the use of the comma and metalinguistic activities by 4th grade elementary school students who write the text in partnership, in an ecological situation and in real time. To do this, we answered the following questions: 1) How do the students use the comma in the text they are writing? 2) In which textual situations does the comma seem to be most present in the texts? 3) What is the linguistic nature of the comments? Syntactic, semantic or other? 4) What linguistic and discursive strategies do students use when they replace a punctuation mark with another textual object (any linguistic or graphic element)? 5) What relationships do students establish between the comma and other textual objects? Taking these aspects into account, we analyzed four textual production tasks of invented written stories, captured and recorded in process through the Ramos System, which consists of three types of media: visual, sound and written record to capture what happens in the classroom, in real time and space. Through this system, we have access to the dialog of the students who are writing the same text together. Thus, considering the school manuscript, we investigated the inscription of commas, described in our study as follows: 1. Absence of the comma in positions required by grammar; 2. Presence of the comma in a position required by grammar; 3. Presence of the comma in a position not provided for by grammar; 4. Switched position of the comma, to indicate the graphic occurrence of another punctuation mark in the position of a comma; 5. Substitute position of the comma, use of the comma in the position of another punctuation mark. With regard to dialogic text, we highlight the following situations: 1. mention of the linguistic term comma, when students insert this punctuation mark into the text and verbalize it in the linearity of a statement being written; 2. simple commentary on the comma, with short sentences and no explanation or argumentation about the use of this punctuation mark; 3. unfolded commentary, when students explain, argue and justify the use of the comma in the text. The results, which are still in progress, show that the comments made by the children in certain text writing situations reveal well-established linguistic knowledge about the need to use the graphic forms that make up the punctuation system. The mention of the linguistic term comma, even before the writer recorded this graphic mark on the paper, was a recurring action in all four dyads. The verbalization of the term comma with a simple comment, even before the scribe registered this graphic mark on the paper, was also a recurring action, which may signal a reflection on the written language and is justified by the fact that the students have already acquired knowledge of the syntactic structure of the written language and understand that certain textual portions have a complete meaning and must be separated from others that follow them by punctuation marks. The unfolded comment about the use of the comma is not very common and does not appear in all the dyads analyzed. It occurs when students talk about or try to affirm the presence of the comma, using syntax or semantic issues. By comparing the simple comment with the unfolded one, we do not assume that the unfolded comment reveals that one pair has more knowledge about the use of the comma than another, but that by arguing, we can show how students are consolidating their knowledge about the comma and, potentially, its use. There is always metalinguistic activity in the use of a punctuation mark, because its presence in the text presupposes some kind of knowledge (silenced or verbalized). This knowledge, however, is under construction, especially when the students are learning to write. Its use doesn't always imply a direct relationship with the grammatical rule, since students don't know how to discuss all the rules - or don't discuss them at all. A punctuation mark plays a fundamental role in the writing of texts, even when it is not present, when it is not placed in the right place or when it takes the place of another punctuation mark. The presence of a comma, for example, signals that students already understand that the punctuation system is related to the written text. In the specific case of the comma, students report the relationship between the comma and large chunks of meaning or the relationship between the comma and constituent elements of the sentence. The use, the mentions, followed or not by comments, signal a reflection on written language and the incorporation of knowledge acquired by the students about the syntactic structure of written language, mobilizing rules for the use of the comma.