Carta-crônica: uma tradição discursiva no jornalismo potiguar

Abstract

As main objective of this research we describe and characterize the chronicle-letter as a discursive genre, in a synchronic perspective, and as a discursive tradition (DT), from a diachronic perspective. The theoretical reference which we based on to describe this genre was the discursive theory by Bakhtin (2010, 2003, 1988, 1976), specially the concepts of transmutation and hybridism; genre theory, based on Bhatia (2009, 2004, 2001, 1990); Swales (2009, 2004, 1990); Bazerman (2005, 1994) and Maingueneau (2011, 2006). To characterize the letter as a Discourse Tradition we have taken into account Coseriu (1979, 1980, 2007); Schilieben-Lange (1983); Kabatek (2004a,b) and Koch (2008). The methodology was based on the model proposed by Zavan (2009) to analyze genre diachronically. Through this methodology we constituted a corpus composed of 75 chronicle lett ers, collected in the following newspapers from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil: A República, Diário de Natal , (a Catholic Church Center Newspaper), and Tribuna do Norte, from Rio Grande do Norte, in the period from 1914 to 2010. In order to analize the route of the chronicle letter and to identify the transformations that affected them along time, we approached them in three phases, with a sample of 25 letters in each one. The data analysis allows us to affirm that the chronicle letter is a Discursive Tradition in Rio Grande do Norte journalism. The results show that a chronicle letter Discursive Tradition is characterized by past evocation. Thus, the narrative of evoked past histories through memories is a defining feature in this Discursive Tradition.