Ressignificação como categoria analítica nos estudos de insultos linguísticos: pressupostos teóricos e proposta crítica

Abstract

This dissertation aims to investigate the scientific metalanguage surrounding the resignification of insults and offensive terms through a systematic literature review, focusing on the theoretical foundations that underpin this field of inquiry. The category of resignification in language studies concerned with linguistic practices and language use has been increasingly addressed, demanding a more solid theoretical treatment. This study seeks to problematize this notion by critically examining how different studies define it, operationalize it, and relate it to specific theories of language. The central objective is to understand how resignification has been conceptualized, identifying the limits and potentialities of the language theories that support these studies. Methodologically, the research adopts the mapping review model (Grant & Booth, 2009), with adaptations for this study, in order to map and classify articles published in national and international databases, namely the CAPES Periodicals Portal, SciELO Brazil, and Google Scholar. The survey prioritized open-access and peer-reviewed publications published between 1997—the year of publication of Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative, by Judith Butler—and 2025. The corpus analysis is guided by analytical questions designed to identify the theoretical assumptions mobilized in the texts. Subsequently, the study proposes an interpretation of resignification that articulates contributions from the Philosophy of Language and Pragmatics (Austin, 1991; Butler, 1997 [2021]; Santos, 2012) with perspectives from Linguistic Anthropology, particularly the notions of indexicality and metapragmatics (Pinto, 2007, 2009; Silverstein, 1993, 2003). This framework allows resignification to be understood as an indexical process of contestation over meaning, shaped by metapragmatic frameworks and ideologies that legitimize or challenge particular uses. In addition, the research engages with debates on linguistic agency (Ahearn, 2000; Asad, 2000), highlighting the complexity of practices that may both resist hegemonic norms and reproduce them. As a contribution, this study offers a critical and systematic analysis of the scientific metalanguage on resignification in Brazil, proposing an analytical framework that highlights the assumptions and potentialities involved in how the topic has been addressed. It thus aims to broaden the understanding of the relationships between language, vulnerability, and identity, as well as the ways in which the resignification of insults may constitute a practice of symbolic struggle and social reinvention.