A arbitrariedade e iconicidade na língua brasileira de sinais a partir de verbos

Abstract

This study was motivated by the perception of one of the linguistic complexities present in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras): the balance between arbitrary and iconic signs within its grammar. The research seeks to answer the following question: how do the phenomena of arbitrariness and iconicity of the linguistic sign manifest in Brazilian Sign Language, especially in the domain of verbs? The general objective of this study is to understand how these phenomena coexist and operate in the constitution of linguistic signs in Libras, highlighting the structural flexibility and expressive richness of this visual-spatial language. To this end, two specific objectives are established: to discuss the linguistic foundations that support the concepts of arbitrariness and iconicity in Libras, and to demonstrate, through examples—particularly within the sphere of verbal signs the manifestations of these phenomena in actual language use. The research adopts a bibliographic, descriptive, and qualitative approach, grounded in authors such as Gesser (2009), Quadros (2004), Capovilla (2017), Carmozine (2012), Brito (1995), and Frizanco and Honora (2021), in the field of Libras studies, as well as Saussure (2012), Benveniste (1991), Fiorin (2003), Bagno (2014), and Martelotta (2020), who provide theoretical support regarding the linguistic sign and arbitrariness in language. This study contributes to the deepening of linguistic investigations into Libras and broadens the understanding of the coexistence between arbitrary and iconic signs, emphasizing the “free” nature of this language as a visual and gestural system endowed with complexity, creativity, and expressive autonomy.