A Cartografia Surda dos Bares de Macapá: um estudo sobre Topônimos em Libras

Abstract

This article analyzes the lexical creation processes of toponyms in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), through a case study focused on sign-names for bars in the city of Macapá-AP, Brazil. This qualitative and descriptive study uses netnography to analyze a video corpus of a spontaneous social interaction, applying a framework for phonological and semantic motivation analysis based on the taxonomic models of Dick (1990) and Souza-Júnior (2012). The results reveal a diversity of naming strategies, with a strong preference for iconic and sociocultural motivation over direct loanwords from Portuguese. Formation categories were identified based on the location's function (action), its visual identity (logo), the identity of its clientele, the conceptual translation of the name (metonymy), and the establishment's historical memory. The study concludes that the Macapá Deaf community actively constructs a "Deaf cartography" of the city, re-signifying the urban space based on its own visual and cultural experience. The research contributes to the documentation of a regional variant of Libras and to the understanding of toponymy as an act of identity affirmation.