Terminological Definition in a Libras dictionary

Abstract

The linguistic recognition of Sign Languages in 1960 and, more recently, in Brazil, ensured the officialization of the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), in 2002. Through this recognition, significant changes occurred in the scientific areas that involve the study of that language as, for example, the registration of sign-terms. Thus, Libras becomes an object of studies in different language sciences, mainly in the Communicative Theory of Terminology (CTT), which chooses as object of investigation the linguistic behavior of the terminological units and, therefore, we believe that there is space in this theory for studying the units belonging to Libras. Under this bias, the present work aims to analyze the Terminological Definition (TD) of the sign-terms registered in the Brazilian Sign Language Dictionary (DLSB), mainly with regard to the organization and writing of the statements that constitute the definition of the sign-terms of Medicinal Plants in Libras. This investigation is justified by the need of the user to understand how these sign-terms are defined, considering the precepts of CTT and the cultural and functional aspects that make up the language. The preliminary results indicate that the DLSB provides many contributions to the areas of study of the lexicon and Libras, however it still constitutes a needy space in the sense of observing the terms under the lenses of the TD. In short, the themes discussed in this paper will provide some reflections about the process of building definitions in dictionaries, although many terminological issues still need to be further explored in future researches.