Referential drift in discourses about the organization of the 2016 olympic games

Abstract

The aim of this study is the referential functioning in representative sequences of the theoretical construction that denominates the 2016 Olympics Organization Discourse. Initially, it shows the setting of this discourse. Next, it discusses the occurrence of the first person plural based on a discursive perspective, emphasizing the notion of political ‘we’. Finally, it analyses discursive sequences that were extracted from Carlos Nuzman's statements, president of the event organizing committee. Through paraphrastic exercises and the relation between the linguistic and the discursive memory, we realized that the Nuzman’s discourse varies between different imaginary referents. This drift produces an effect of socialization responsibility for the organizational work. However, such effect supposes a controversial alignment between the position of the subject who enunciates (in opposition to a particular imaginary about Brazil) and the position of the referent. We pointed out, therefore, the importance of dealing with the ‘we’ at a discursive level bringing the illusion of homogeneous voices that such representation can produce.