The word order of time adverbial phrases in the 16th C and 17th C Jesuit letters

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss word order trends of adverbial phrases of time in letters written by Jesuits in the 16 th  C and 17 th  C. Also, we present some of the reasons for these trends through a structural and discoursive-pragmatic analysis. The North  American  functionalism  theory  is  the  theoretical  framework  of  the research,  once  we  consider  the  relationship  between  form  and  function  in speech  relevant.  We  seek  to  verify  standardized  time  adverbial  word  order, analyze  factors  that  motivate  different  positions  for  these  locutions  in  the clause and compare the results with prior historical moments of Portuguese to assess in which extent they can indicate linguistic change.