Enunciative heterogeneity in the discourse on the environment in the Portuguese press: functioning and effects of direct speech

Abstract

This paper deals with some of the most relevant dimensions of enunciative heterogeneity (Fonseca, 1992 (1989)) which characterizes the discourses on the environment presented by the press. The analysis focuses on central structural aspects and on the pragmatic-communicative functioning of direct speech, a citational mechanism systematically used in the selected corpus. In addition to presenting a number of possibilities for syntagmatic organization, direct speech is strategic in the projection of a certain image by the producer of the citational speech, an essential element in the exercise of influence which strongly characterizes the press discourse on the environment.