Polarity, expression of degree and negation: the vernacular form <i>caraças</i>

Abstract

This paper presents the vernacular form caraças which, in European Portuguese (EP) is associated to multiple contexts, differents from its use as a feminine common noun. The data I will present shows that caraças behaves as a polarity item, without referential interpretation. On the one hand, caraçasbehaves as a minimizer, a subtype of Negative Polarity Item (NPI), being associated to the lowest point of a scale of value. On the other hand, it also behaves as a Positive Polarity Item (PPI), expressing maximal degrees, therefore being a maximizer. The fact that caraças occurs simultaneously as a NPI and a PPI could indicate we are in the presence of a bipolar element, as described by van der Wouden (1997). Nevertheless, data suggests that there are two distinct items caraças, one of them being a NPI and the other a PPI.

The form caraças is also associated to other contexts of use, namely as a metalinguistic negation marker and in evaluative constructions such as N-of-an-N constructions. We also find it functioning as an interjection in exclamative sentences.

Although the feminine common noun caraça (augmentative of cara ‘face’) remains in the lexicon as synonym of mask, the polarity item caraças does not result from a process of grammaticalization of the common noun, as documented for other polarity items. In this paper I will put forth the idea that caraças, in its masculine singular form, appeared as an euphemistic variant of caralho ‘dick’, a highly offensive taboo term, used to designate the masculine sexual organ.