5.1.1. Madeiran regionalisms tested with greater vitality

According to the answers given by the informants from the different geographical areas, of the 15 lexical regionalisms, 24 semantic regionalisms and one expression the best known Madeiran regionalisms (by all the speakers), those with more vitality and less variability of meaning are:

1. azougar, with the phonetic variants azoigar/azagar (verb, ‘to die’, used mainly of animals), a semantic regionalism, meaning: dar um mal (‘feel unwell/dying’), informant 1, and estalar/morrer (‘to die’), informants 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Funchal, as well as informants 1 to 6 in Machico, in Câmara de Lobos and in Porto Moniz, and respondents 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol. This word has only two correlated meanings: ‘to die’ and ‘to feel unwell/dying’. In this case, there is stability of the word meaning related to the fact that practically all informants in Funchal and in rural areas of Madeira Island know the word with its traditional sense, revealing great vitality.

2. bisalho (noun, ‘chick or little chicken’), a semantic regionalism, with the graphic variant bizalho, meaning: pintainho (‘chick’ or ‘little chicken’), informants 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Funchal, respondents 1 to 6 in Machico and in Ponta do Sol, pineco (with the same sense), informants 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 in Porto Moniz, and 1 and 3 in Câmara de Lobos, but also criança (‘child’), speaker 2 in Funchal, informant 3 in Câmara de Lobos, as well as pequeno (‘little’), by generalization of the sense, respondents 4, 5 and 6, and miúdo pequeno (‘little boy’), speaker 3 in Porto Moniz. This word seems to be a conservative form that has the ancient specific meaning of ‘chick’ in Madeira, that started as a metaphor to designate ‘little child’ or ‘little boy’ as well.

3. busico (noun and/or adjective, ‘little animal’ or ‘little child’), a lexical regionalism with the graphic variant buzico, and two interrelated responses: rapaz or rapariga/pessoa pequena (‘little person/boy or girl’), informant 1 in Funchal, and speaker 4 in Câmara de Lobos; criança pequena (‘little child’), respondents 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Funchal, and informants 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos, as well as speakers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 in Porto Moniz; pequeno/coisa pequena (‘little/little thing’), by a generalization of the meaning, speaker 4 in Funchal, and speakers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in Machico, also informant 6 in Ponta do Sol; miúdo somenos/destravado (‘badly behaved’), specialization of the sense, informant 3 in Porto Moniz. It seems to be a new meaning in the isolated area of the north of the island.

4. cachada (noun, ‘buttock’ and ‘cheek’), a semantic regionalism, with the meanings: nádega (‘buttock’), informants 1, 2 and 3 in Funchal; informants 1 to 6 in Machico and in Câmara de Lobos, speaker 3, as well as rabo (‘backside’), informant 1; in Ponta do Sol, we documented the same sense, respondents 1, 3, 4 and 5, including coxa (‘thigh’), speaker 2, and rabinho (‘little backside’), informant 6. In Funchal, we recorded also anca (‘hip’), speaker 4, do rabo or da cara (‘buttock’ or ‘cheek’), respondent 5, cachada de um animal (‘animal buttock’), informant 6; in Machico, bochecha (‘cheek’), speaker 3; in Porto Moniz, bochecha/parte da cara (‘cheek/part of the face’), informants 1 to 6. We found two interrelated meanings, and the fact that in the north coast, Porto Moniz, the only meaning is ‘cheek’, which can indicate that this is the oldest sense of the word, saved there, that is losing vitality.

5. cangueira (noun, ‘cramp’), a semantic regionalism, with several meanings: câimbra/dor na perna (‘cramping’), respondents 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, in Funchal, and respondents 1 to 6, in Machico, in Câmara de Lobos and in Porto Moniz, also with the same sense in Ponta do Sol, informants 3, 4, 5 and 6; pés dormentes (‘numb feet’), respondent 1, and dor no pescoço (‘neck ache’), speaker 2, in Ponta do Sol, resulting from a cognitive process of semantic specification. It seems to be a conservative form or word with the oldest sense of ‘cramping’, having a linguistic continuity of the sense of the term in the areal distribution.

6. dentinho (noun, ‘appetizer’), a semantic regionalism with unanimous responses: in Funchal, petisco/isca/aperitivo (‘appetizer’), informants 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6; in Machico, respondents 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6; in Câmara de Lobos, in Ponta do Sol and in Porto Moniz, speakers 1 to 6. It is not the diminutive form of dente (‘tooth’) but another word which originated from a cognitive process of metonymy, contiguity, or association with it.

7. furado (noun, ‘tunnel’), a semantic regionalism with one main answer: túnel (‘tunnel’), informants 1 to 6 in Funchal, respondents 1, 2, 4 and 6 in Machico, speakers 2 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, informants 1 to 6 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 1, 2 and 4 to 6, in Porto Moniz; com buraco/roto (‘with a hole/shabby’), informant 3 in Machico, informant 1 in Câmara de Lobos, and informant 3 in Porto Moniz; (tem) bicho (‘with a bug’), respondent 5 in Machico. The last two senses of the word are standard in European Portuguese. It is a polysemic word that in Madeira, as a dialectal variant, corresponds to the denotational standard synonym túnel ‘tunnel’. The regional meaning revealed great vitality in Funchal, with no semantic variation between the informants.

8. semilha (noun, ‘potato’), a lexical regionalism that is a loan from Spanish semilla ‘seed’, with the same meaning at all inquiry points: batata (‘potato’). It exists in Madeira in co-occurrence with the standard term batata and became dominant as a feature of Madeiran lexicon, but not used in the expression batata frita ‘French fries’.

   Of the lexical units contemplated in this study, these seem to be the most widely used and have more vitality in contemporary Portuguese spoken on the island of Madeira, perhaps the ones with more social prestige or due to their strong expressiveness in the regional culture. As they are spoken and not written words, they present phonetical and graphical variation when written as answers in the semasiological questionnaire e.g., azougar/azoigar/azagar, bisalho/bizalho and busico/buzico.

5.1.2. Madeiran regionalisms with the greatest variability in meaning

The Madeiran regionalisms with the greatest variability in meaning, and greatest polysemy, are characterized by less stability. They seem to be less well known, as shown by the co-occurrence of the regional meaning alongside the standard meaning:

1. abicar (verb, ‘push’ and ‘jump’), a semantic regionalism with the dialect form or variant abicar-se (in Madeira). In Funchal, the answers collected on the questionnaire for this lexical item were: jogar-se/atirar-se (‘to jump’), informants 2, 3, 5 and 6. We recorded the same meaning in Ponta do Sol, respondents 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and in Porto Moniz, informants 1, 2, 4. In Funchal cair (‘fall’) was also documented by respondent 4, as well as in Ponta do Sol, speaker number 5, and in Porto Moniz, informants 3, 4, 5, 6. The same meaning occurs also in Machico, together with jogar (‘throw away’), informants 1, 2, 4, synonym of atirar (‘throw’), respondent 3. In Machico, speakers 5 and 6 gave the answer empurrar (‘push’). In Câmara de Lobos, the word was recorded with the sense of matar-se (‘to kill oneself’), informants 4, 5 and 6. As we can verify, the meaning of the word is given through synonyms, revealing that abicar(-se) is an expressive lexical type with a sociocultural function. The polysemic character of the word translates its dynamic and flexible meanings, with a semantic association between them, as it is the case of ‘to jump’ and ‘to kill oneself’, ‘to fall’ and ‘to push’.

2. aboseirado and emboseirado (adjective, ‘lazy’), lexical regionalisms derived forms from boseira (‘bullshit’), meaning: in Funchal, sentado/deitado (‘seated/lying’), respondents 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, with the same sense in Machico, informants 1, 2, 3 and 6, as well as in Ponta do Sol and Porto Moniz, for all six speakers. In Câmara de Lobos, we also recorded the meaning sentado (‘seated’), informant 1. In Funchal, we also documented the meaning acomodado (‘accommodated’), informant 2, the same as in Machico, sem pachorra para fazer nada (‘with no patience/time for anything’), respondents 4, 5. In Câmara de Lobos, we found a similar sense, malandro (‘lazy’), speakers 2, 4, 5 and 6, together with pessoa parada (‘inactive person’), informant 3 (an expressive lexical type from a cognitive process of metaphor with ‘bullshit’). The meaning of the word with the forms aboseirado/emboseirado is given mainly by synonyms and by a periphrastic form sem pachorra para fazer nada, equivalent to ‘with no patience/time for anything’. The sense pessoa parada ‘inactive person’ seems to be a specification of the word meaning, and malandro ‘lazy’ a generalization of the sense. This semantic variation results from the vagueness of the word, the characteristic of the lexicon that allows flexibility of meaning and consequently polysemy.

3. açacanhar (verb, ‘to step on/to humiliate’), a lexical regionalism with the graphic variant assacanhar. It is probably a phonetic form shaped from acalcanhar (‘to heel’), with the same denotational and non-denotational sense. For this word, we collected the answers: pisar/apatanhar (‘to step on’), informants 2 and 6, in Funchal, with the same meaning and the synonymous calcar (‘to step’), respondent 3, in Machico, and in Ponta do Sol, speakers 1, 4, 5, 6. The figurative or non-denotational sense maltratar/massacrar/atazanar (‘mistreat’) was clear for speakers 3, 4 and 5 in Funchal, and respondents 4 and 5 in Porto Moniz, and maltratar/pisar (‘mistreat/to step’), respondents 1, 3, together with gozar (‘make fun’), informants 2, 4, 5, 6 in Câmara de Lobos. In Porto Moniz, envergonhar (‘to embarrass’), informant 2, rebaixar os outros (‘humiliate others’), speaker 3, and atentar (‘attempt’), informant 6. Other senses documented were: falso testemunho (‘perjury’), speaker 6 in Machico; falar mal de alguém (‘bad-mouth someone’), respondent 5 in Ponta do Sol. We can observe that the meaning of the word is given by synonyms. The new and unexpected senses are falso testemunho ‘perjury’ and falar mal de alguém ‘bad-mouth someone’, seeming to be a cognitive process of generalization of the word meaning. The meanings ‘to step (on)’ – by metaphor in a figurative sense – ‘mistreat’, ‘make fun’, ‘embarrass’, ‘humiliate others’, and ‘attempt’ or ‘to provoke someone’ have the same non-denotational sense.

4. asservado (adjective, ‘serious person’), lexical regionalism probably formed from the standard word asserto (from asserção ‘assertion’) or from acerto (‘correctness, weighting, prudence’), with the collected meanings: pessoa calma (‘calm person’), informant 3 in Funchal, and speakers 3 and 6 in Porto Moniz; pessoa caseira (‘homebody’), speaker 6 in Funchal; tímida and pessoa sossegada (‘shy’ and ‘quiet person’), informant 3 in Machico, and informant 2 in Porto Moniz; ajuízada (‘wise person’), respondent 6 in Machico; cuidadoso (‘careful’), speakers 4 and 5 in Câmara de Lobos; pessoa certeira (‘right person’), respondent 3 in Ponta do Sol. All these answers seem to be partial synonyms of asservado. Other senses recorded with meaning differentiation were: pessoa que compreende (‘understanding person’, through a cognitive process of generalization), informant 5 in Porto Moniz; pessoa poupada (‘spared person’, by specialization of the sense), respondent 6 in Câmara de Lobos; pessoa bem-disposta (‘cheerful person’, also a specification of the word meaning), speaker 5 in Funchal, and 4 in Porto Moniz. In Funchal, we also documented the meaning muito bem limpo (‘very clean’) respondent 4. This sense is hard to explain, but it may have a semantic relationship with the previous meanings in the sense that only a focused and willing person can do or be ‘very clean’.

5. atrapichar (verb, ‘to obstruct/block’), a lexical regionalism probably from the association of atrapichar with atrapalhar. The original meaning documented in rural Madeira for atrapichado (‘obstructed’) was muito atrapalhado (‘very muddled’), informant 5 in Câmara de Lobos, and pessoa carregada/que leva muitas coisas (‘person loaded/with many things’), respondents 3 and 5 in Porto Moniz. The new senses recorded, revealing the flexibility, variability and instability of the word, were: baralhar (‘shuffling’), informant 3, in Funchal, and pessoa baralhada (‘confused person’), speaker 1, in Porto Moniz; mal vestido (‘scruffy’), respondent 5 in Funchal; maluco (‘crazy’), speaker 4 in Funchal, dar em louco (‘go crazy’), speaker 5 in Câmara de Lobos, pessoa meia louca (‘half-crazy person’), informants 2 and 4 in Porto Moniz; pessoa distraída (‘distracted person’), respondent 6 in Câmara de Lobos. In the case of ‘crazy person’, there is a semantic relationship with the Madeiran regionalism trapiche ‘house for mentally ill people’, and with the derived words trapichado and/or trapichento. Other meanings listed were: cramar (‘complain’), informant 6 in Funchal; portar-se mal/traquina (‘badly behaved’), informants 1 and 4, and vestir-se (‘dress up’), speakers 2 and 3 in Ponta do Sol; saltar um barranco (‘jump a ravine’), respondent 6 in Porto Moniz. We had no answer in Machico. Despite the last meaning listed, which is hard to explain, there is a correlation between the different meanings of the word, through cognitive processes of metaphor, like baralhar ‘shuffling’, in the sense that a person loaded with things becomes a pessoa baralhada ‘confused person’; by metonymy or association of form, for example mal vestido (‘scruffy’); generalization or extension of the meaning in vestir-se ‘dress up’, and specialization or restriction of the sense in ‘crazy person’, in the new meanings collected.

6. cieiro (noun, ‘dirtiness on the skin’), a semantic regionalism with the definitions: suor acumulado na pele (‘accumulated sweat on the skin’), respondent 2, sujidade/sujo (‘dirtiness/dirty’, generalization of the word sense), speakers 3, 4 and 6 in Funchal, and informants 3, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, as well as informants 2, 3, 4 and 5 in Machico; mal lavado/sujidade no corpo/pele/pessoa encardida/suja (‘badly washed/dirtiness on the body/skin/dirty person’, the previous meaning), speaker 5 in Funchal, and informants 2 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, also speakers 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; pedra para esfregar (‘stone to rub’, through a cognitive process of contiguity or metonymy), informant 6 in Funchal; in Machico, tarro (synonym for ‘dirtiness’), respondents 1 and 6. Other meanings of the word were: lábios gretados (‘chapped lips’), the standard meaning, informant 1 in Funchal, and by metonymy, association or analogy, cera de lábios (‘lip balm’), respondent 1 in Câmara de Lobos. Curiously, another sense of the word collected was erva (‘herb’), speaker 4 in Ponta do Sol, with apparent lack of semantic relationship with previous ones. There is a linguistic continuum in the distribution of the traditional meaning of the word, despite the flexibility of the meanings.

7. dar um amorzinho (expression, ‘give a little love’, with the sense of ‘give way a little/give a little help’), a lexicalized phrase with the co-occurrence of different responses: dar carinho (‘give affection’), informant 3 in Funchal; carinho (‘affection’), informants 3, 5 and 6 in Machico, and 1, 4, 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos; dar um beijinho/carinho (‘give a little kiss/affection’), respondents 4 and 6 in Ponta do Sol; dar um abraço/um beijo/carinho (‘give a hug/a kiss/affection’), speakers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Porto Moniz. This literal interpretation reveals that respondents are unaware of the regionalism. Other senses documented were fazer um favor (‘to do a favour’), speaker 4, and afastar-se para passar (‘give way’), respondents 5 and 6 in Funchal; dar licença (‘excuse’), speaker 4 in Câmara de Lobos; levantar algo do chão (‘lift something of the floor’), informant 5 in Ponta do Sol; deslocar um objeto (‘move an object’), respondent 4 in Porto Moniz. These are the traditional meanings of the expression known to older informants in Funchal, as well as in Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Porto Moniz. This expression (which is a periphrastic construction for ‘give way’ or ‘move away’) seems to exist only in Madeira.

8. emantado (adjective, ‘ill’), a semantic regionalism, meaning: triste, deprimido, doente (‘sad, depressed, ill’), informants 1, 3 and 4, in Funchal, and respondents 4, 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos, as well as 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz, and 3, 4 and 6 in Machico, together with the sense que não se mexe (‘that doesn’t move’), speaker 5; incapaz (‘unable’), respondent 1, and cansado (‘tired’), speakers 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos; pessoa que não consegue andar (‘person that cannot walk’), respondent 4, and encolhido com frio (‘feeling the cold’), speaker 5 in Ponta do Sol. In Funchal, we also recorded the standard meaning abafado (‘sultry’), informant 5, and the sense de um dia para outro (‘from one day to the other’), respondent 6. In Câmara de Lobos, it means mandar outro (‘send another’), speaker 3, and, in Ponta do Sol, chateado (‘upset’), informant 6. As we can see, it is a polysemic word with a great variability of meanings.

9. embeiçado (adjective, ‘without money’), a semantic regionalism with three different definitions: apaixonado (‘in love’), the standard meaning, informants 1 and 2 in Funchal, and respondent 3 in Machico, also speakers 4 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, and respondent 1 in Ponta do Sol; sem dinheiro/teso (‘with no money’), the traditional Madeiran meaning, respondents 3 to 6 in Funchal, and respondents 2, 5 and 6 in Machico, as well as informants 3 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, informants 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, and informants 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; amuado (‘sulky’), informant 1 in Machico and in Porto Moniz; mal-humorado (‘grumpy’), informant 1 in Câmara de Lobos (new and unexpected meanings). There is an opposition between the meaning of the word in the rural and more conservative area of the north of the Island, Porto Moniz, presenting the traditional meaning ‘penniless’, and the other more innovative areas where the standard meaning of the word occurs, ‘in love’.

10. embolajar and abolajar (verb, ‘smash’), lexical regionalisms probably formed from the term abolar (‘dent/knead’, ‘shaping a cake or a ball’), with the meanings: espalmar/esmagar (‘crush/smash’), informants 1 and 3 to 6 in Funchal, and informants 1, 2 and 4 to 6 in Machico, also informants 1 and 5 in Câmara de Lobos, informants 1 to 6 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; esmigalhar (‘crumble’), respondent 2 in Funchal; amolgar (‘dent’), respondent 3 in Machico; and malandrice (‘rascality’), respondent 4 in Câmara de Lobos. The senses ‘crumble’ and ‘dent’ seem to be more specific than ‘crush’ and ‘smash’, and the meaning ‘rascality’ is a non-denotational sense by metaphor or analogy (a new sense of the word).

11. grogue and meio grogue (noun, ‘brandy measure’), semantic regionalisms meaning: um shot de whisky or um copo (pequeno)/cálice/½ decilitro/shot de aguardente (‘brandy measure’), informants 1, 2, 5 and 6 in Funchal, informants 3 and 5 in Machico, and respondent 5 in Câmara de Lobos, also informant 2 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; pinga/bebida alcoólica (‘brandy/drink’), respondent 3 in Funchal, respondents 1 and 4 in Machico, and respondents 3 to 6 in Ponta do Sol; bebida caseira (‘home-made drink’), informant 4, in Funchal; licor/½ copo de licor (‘liquor/glass of liquor’), respondents 3 and 6 in Machico, and informant 1 in Porto Moniz; aguardente com mel (‘brandy with honey’), informant 6 in Câmara de Lobos; copo de leite (‘glass of milk’), respondent 1 in Ponta do Sol, which seems to be ironic. We find that the traditional meaning ‘brandy measure’ is well known especially in Porto Moniz, but also in Funchal, by the youngest and oldest informants. The term gained new senses by generalization ‘brandy/drink’, by metonymy ‘liquor/glass of liquor’, and by specialization ‘home-made drink’ and ‘brandy with honey’, revealing great variability.

12. joeira (noun, ‘paper kite’), a semantic regionalism with the documented meanings: papagaio de papel (‘paper kite’), informants 2 to 6 in Funchal, with the same meaning, respondents 1 to 4 and 6 in Machico, respondent 1 in Câmara de Lobos, informants 1, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, the traditional Madeiran sense; de joeirar trigo/separar as sementes/cereais (‘wheat winnowing’), informant 5 in Machico and respondents 3 and 4 to 6 in Porto Moniz, and peneira de vime (‘wicker sieve’), respondents 2 and 5 in Ponta do Sol, the standard agricultural meaning of the word; cabelo (‘hair’), informant 3 in Ponta do Sol (by metaphor with the shape of the object). The regional sense of the term is well known in Funchal, Machico and Ponta do Sol, and was not identified in Porto Moniz where the informants mentioned only the agricultural meaning. In Ponta do Sol the metaphoric meaning related to hair was also registered.

13. maltrapichado (adjective, ‘scruffy’), a lexical regionalism with the responses: mal vestido/pessoa mal-arranjada (‘scruffy/ill-arranged person’), informants 3 to 5 in Funchal, and informants 1 and 4 to 6 in Machico, also respondents 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos, informants 1, 2, 3 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 3, 5 and 6 in Porto Moniz; chanfrado (‘crazy’), respondent 6 in Funchal, and informant 4 in Porto Moniz; desagrado (‘unpleasantness’), informant 4 in Câmara de Lobos. The traditional meaning predominates, ‘a scruffy/ill-arranged person’, along with the new and related senses, ‘crazy’ and ‘unpleasantness’.

14. quinar and quinado (verb, ‘to be screwed’), semantic regionalisms with the definitions: dar o berro, morrer (‘to die’, informal standard meaning), informant 1 in Funchal; marcar uma pessoa (‘mark a person’), respondent 1, pôr de lado (‘put aside’), informant 4, trincar (‘crack someone’), respondent 6 in Machico, and lixar (‘to cheat someone’), informants 1 and 4 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, prejudicar/lixar alguém (‘harm someone’), informants 2 and 4 to 6 in Porto Moniz; vingar-se (‘take revenge’), respondents 3 and 4 in Funchal; estragar (‘screw up’), respondent 3 in Câmara de Lobos (probably by specialization and generalization of the informal standard meaning). These traditional Madeiran meanings seem to have a correlation with new regional senses: beber (‘drink’), informant 5 in Funchal, roubar (‘to steal’), informant 3 in Ponta do Sol, and bater (‘beat’), respondents 3 and 5 in Porto Moniz. In the case of dar a sua opinião (‘give opinion’), respondent 1 in Porto Moniz, it is a confusion with the word quinau (below). These terms reveal great variability of meanings with semantic relationships between them. It was in Funchal that we had the informal standard meaning instead of the Madeiran sense. In the vocabularies consulted, these forms do not have the meanings indicated by the informants (V. Appendix).

15. quinau (noun, ‘opinion/advice’), a semantic regionalism with the meanings: dar uma opinião/conselho/parecer (‘give an opinion/advice’), informants 5 and 6 in Funchal, respondents 3, 4 and 5 in Machico, respondents 1, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, informants 2, 4 and 6 in Porto Moniz; exemplo (‘example’), informant 6 in Machico; matar (‘to kill’), maybe confusion with the verb quinar (above), respondent 5 in Câmara de Lobos. The traditional meaning (‘give an opinion/advice’) predominates, along with other senses of the word.

16. renheta (adjective and/or noun, ‘grumpy’), a semantic regionalism that seems to be a phonetic variant of ranheta (‘snotty’) from ranho (‘snot’), defined as: pessoa resmungona/rabugenta (‘grumpy person’), informants 1, 3 and 5 in Funchal, and informants 1 to 6 in Machico, as well as respondents 1 and 3 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, speakers 1 to 6 in Ponta do Sol, and informants 1 to 4 in Porto Moniz; zangado (‘angry’), informant 6 in Porto Moniz; discutir/reinar (‘discuss’), respondents 4 and 6 in Funchal; pessoa reles (‘bad person’), informant 5 in Porto Moniz. The flexibility and vitality of the word on the island of Madeira show its expressiveness and efficiency in relation to the synonyms of the standard variety.

17. sobressi (adjective, ‘non-normal person’), a semantic regionalism corresponding to the meanings: pessoa anormal/sem juízo/que não joga bem da cabeça (‘non-normal person/crazy’), informants 3 to 6 in Funchal, and respondents 3 to 6 in Machico, as well as informant 5 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; desorientado (‘lost’), informant 1 in Ponta do Sol; falar sobre uma pessoa (‘to talk about someone/bad-mouth’), respondent 3 in Câmara de Lobos. The predominant sense of the word is ‘non-normal person/crazy’, the traditional meaning. We documented also ‘lost’, having a semantic relationship with the previous meaning, and an unexpected new sense ‘bad-mouth’.

18. sovado and sovento (adjective, ‘sweaty/dirty’), sovado is a semantic regionalism and sovento probably is a phonetic alteration of sebento (from sebo ‘sebum’), meaning ‘filthy’ or ‘dirty’. It could also be a new word formed from the verb sovar (‘knead’), which, on the island of Madeira, has the meaning of ‘get dirty’. The words were defined as: nojento/sujo (‘dirty’), informants 3 to 6 in Funchal, and respondents 1 to 4 in Machico, as well as 1, 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos, and informants 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol; pessoa nojenta/que cheira mal (‘dirty person/who smells bad’), respondents 5 and 6 in Machico, also 2 to 4 in Câmara de Lobos, and informants 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz; agredido fisicamente (‘physically assaulted’, standard meaning), respondent 2 in Ponta do Sol. The traditional meaning in Madeira Island is ‘dirty’ for a thing and for a person. There is convergence and continuity between the responses collected in Funchal and in rural areas. The fact that a respondent gave the standard meaning reveals that the regional meaning is not well known.

19. terçol (noun, ‘youngest son’), a semantic regionalism with the collected meanings: terçolho no olho (‘inflammation in the eye’), the standard meaning in European Portuguese, informants 1 and 3 to 6 in Funchal, and 1, 2, 3 and 5 in Machico, as well as respondents 1, 2 and 4 to 6 in Ponta do Sol, and 1, 2 and 4 to 6 in Porto Moniz; filho mais novo (‘youngest son’), the regional meaning, informants 3 to 5 in Funchal, and respondents 1 and 6 in Machico, as well as 1 to 6 in Câmara de Lobos, 5 in Ponta do Sol, and informants 3 and 5 in Porto Moniz; criança (‘child’), by a cognitive process of generalization from the previous meaning, respondent 4 in Machico. As we can see, responses were split between the standard and regional meanings, which means that the regional sense of the word is losing ground especially among younger speakers.

20. trapichado and trapichento (adjectives, ‘messy’ and ‘crazy’), lexical regionalisms, new derived forms by suffixation from the Madeiran term trapiche (‘institution for the mentally ill’, ‘crazy person’, ‘alcoholic’, and ‘confusion’), presenting different meanings: atontalhado/tarado (‘crazy’), informant 3 in Funchal, and 4 in Machico; mal vestido/mal-arranjado (‘scruffy/ill-arranged’), respondents 4 and 5 in Funchal, and 6 in Machico, as well as informants 1, 2 and 6 in Porto Moniz; trapalhão (‘bungler’), respondent 3 in Machico (all of these with the regional sense); bem vestido (‘well-dressed’), informants 2, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol; alegre/contente como um bobo (‘happy as a crazy person’), respondent 4 in Porto Moniz; jogar à porrada (‘give and take a beating’), informant 6 in Funchal; dar um mal (‘feel unwell’), respondents 5 and 6 in Câmara de Lobos (new and unexpected meanings); pessoa carregada com as coisas que leva (‘person loaded with a lot of things’), a confusion with the word atrapichado (from atrapichar), respondent 5 in Porto Moniz. The word reveals great variability, from ‘crazy’, ‘ill-arranged’ and ‘bungler’ to ‘well-dressed’, with the opposite sense, and ‘feel unwell’. The meaning ‘give and take beating’ is related to the sense of ‘crazy’ person.

5.1.3. Madeiran regionalisms with the least vitality

Some of the lesser known Madeiran regionalisms studied are archaisms and seem to be dying, disappearing, or losing vitality, such as:

1. arriota (noun, ‘confusion’ or ‘problem’), a semantic regionalism (from the standard word arriosca with some phonetic alterations), with the assigned meanings: in Funchal, sempre rindo (‘always laughing’), informant 6; in Machico festa (‘party’), respondents 1 and 6; in Câmara de Lobos aldrabão (‘crook’), speaker 4; in Ponta do Sol, there was no answer; in Porto Moniz, descer (‘to descend’), informant 6. This word was revealed to be less known (it was not recognized in one location) and showed not only variability but also instability of meaning. The sense aldrabão ‘crook’ is related to the standard meaning ‘cunning manoeuvre to trick someone’. We can see that the old meaning ‘confusion’ and/or ‘problem’, previously documented by old people in rural Madeira, is been replaced by new meanings. Some of them maybe because of confusion with other words or expressions, like ‘always laughing’, ‘party’, and ‘to descend’ (probably by confusion with arriar ‘drop’).

2. bambote (noun and/or adjective, ‘small boat’ and ‘loafer’, but also ‘rascal’), a lexical regionalism that is a loan from the English language bumboat (‘little boat to carry goods’), with the documented meanings: barco de pesca (‘fishing boat’), informant 3, vendedor a bordo dos barcos (‘salesperson on board’), speaker 4, and homem fino (‘elegant man’, specialization of the meaning of the word, because these men had money to buy new clothes), respondent 6, in Funchal; comprador/vendedor de tudo (‘buyer/seller of everything’, generalization of the sense), speaker 3, in Machico; canalha (‘scoundrel’), informant 5, in Funchal; bêbado (‘drunk’), respondent 5, and bandido (‘bandit’), informant 6, in Machico; cair (‘fall’) respondent 6, in Porto Moniz. There were no answers in Câmara de Lobos and in Ponta do Sol. We can see the evolution of the word meaning, with the disappearance of the referent, from the name of the fishing boat used by the bamboteiro to sell products on ships, that was a ‘elegant man’, to the generalization or semantic extension of the sense of the term to ‘buyer/seller of everything’, and then, due to the fact that these men worked only when there were ships in the port of Funchal, they were seen as rascals, bêbado ‘drunk’ and bandido ‘bandit’, specialization of the sense, losing its relationship with the original meaning, and having probably also a semantic association with cair ‘fall (down)’. The word is a clear example of the sociocultural situatedness of the meaning, existing in Madeira because it is related to the socio-historical reality of the profession bamboteiro. This form and bambote are respectively phonetic changes of bomboteiro and bombote. In Figure 2, we reproduce a photograph from the Vicentes Museum to illustrate the object and concept of bambote and bamboteiro described and defined above.

   

   Figure 2

   Bombote and Bomboteiros in Funchal bay.

   Photo: Vicentes Photography Museum.

3. burquilha (noun and/or adjective, ‘rude person’ and ‘dullard’), a lexical regionalism with the phonetic variant broquilha, meaning: pessoa da serra que não sabe falar e mal vestida (‘person that doesn’t know to speak or dress’), informants 5 and 6, in Funchal; pessoa do Porto da Cruz (‘person from Porto da Cruz’), respondents 1, 2 and 6, and pessoa sem modos (‘badly behaved person’), speaker 3, in Machico; pessoa mal vestida (‘scruffy’), informants 2, 4 and 6, pessoa que não sabe fazer as coisas (‘person that doesn’t know how to do things’), respondent 3, and pessoa mal-encarada (‘bad person’), speaker 5, in Porto Moniz. Other meanings documented were: pessoa tonta (‘foolish person’), informants 2 and 3, and maricas (‘sissy’), speaker 4, in Funchal. No answers were found in Câmara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol. The meanings ‘person that doesn’t know to speak or dress’ and ‘person from Porto da Cruz’ are synonyms because this locality is from the north of Madeira island and people from there were considered rustic people. So, it is the more conservative meaning of this ancient lexical form and the polysemy of the word show an evolution of its sense to the more recent meanings: by generalization, ‘person that doesn’t know how to do things’, and by specialization ‘bad person’, ‘foolish person’, and ‘sissy’. The word seems to exist only in Madeira and was not recognized in two locations.

4. corsa (noun, ‘wooden board without wheels for dragging transport’), a semantic regionalism with the graphic variant corça, presenting several responses that correspond to one main meaning: pedaços de pau para carregar lenha e mercadorias (‘sticks to load firewood and goods’), informants 4, 5 and 6 in Funchal; carro de madeira/carro de pau (‘wooden cart’), speakers 3 and 6, tábua de arrasto (‘dragged board’), respondent 5 in Machico; ajuda de corça (‘transport aid’), informant 3 in Câmara de Lobos; transporte de madeira usado para transportar coisas (‘wooden carrier used to transport goods’), respondents 1 to 6 in Porto Moniz. In Ponta do Sol there were no answers, which may show that the word is losing vitality. The word is known by all the informants in Porto Moniz. It is a rural word related to agricultural work. This can be explained by the fact that Porto Moniz is in the north coast of Madeira Island and is the most isolated area and the most rural community of our research field, because in the other geographical areas only the older speakers know this regionalism. The conservative form and meaning of the word show the existence of a linguistic continuum between rural Madeira and urban Funchal. This can be explained by the fact that, despite being a rural situation, in Funchal there is a similar means of transport for tourists. However, we can see that the word is losing its vitality, not having been recognized in a locality.

5. cuscuzeiro (noun, ‘ball to cook rice’), a semantic regionalism with different meanings: the old sense is the name of the recipient used for making cuscuz (‘couscous’), recipiente de cozer o cuscuz/panela furada (‘object to cook couscous, pierced pot’), referred to by informants 3, 5 and 6 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 3, 4 and 6 in Porto Moniz, places were even today couscous is made; and fabricante ou vendedor de cuscuz (‘couscous manufacturer or seller’), speaker 4, also in Porto Moniz. Then, we collected the meaning of recipiente de cozer arroz (‘object to cook rice’, inside a Portuguese stew), speakers 5 and 6 in Funchal, and informants 3 and 6 in Machico, through a cognitive process of metonymy of function. It means that, in areas where there is no tradition of making couscous, the word denominates a ball to cook rice. Finally, the new sense documented was pessoa coscuvilheira/vida alheia (‘person that talks about others’ lives/gossipy person’), informants 1, 3 and 4 in Funchal, speakers 1 and 3 in Machico, respondent 4 in Câmara de Lobos and in Ponta do Sol, and informants 1, 2 and 5 in Porto Moniz, as a synonym for bilhardeiro/a, a Madeiran lexical regionalism, probably by confusion with the standard word cusco (‘gossipy’). This is a new and unexpected sense of the word. The term, while gaining new life (acquiring a new meaning), mainly in the mouth of speakers that are not familiar with old rural and cooking objects, is losing vitality (19 informants out of 40 did not recognize it).

6. engamoer and esgamoer (verb, ‘starve’), lexical regionalisms with the following meanings: in Funchal, encher-se de comer/comer muito (‘eat a lot’), informants 3, 4 and 6, ter fome (‘hungry’), respondent 5, the same as in Machico, informants 1, 3, 5 and 6, together with digerir (‘digest’), respondent 4, a new and related meaning; the words were not recognized in Câmara de Lobos and in Ponta do Sol. In Porto Moniz, the terms have the sense of animal que está à fome (‘hungry animal’), informants 3 and 5, pessoa com muito apetite (‘person with a great appetite’), respondent 4, or com muita fome (‘very hungry’), informant 6. The words do not have great variability in their meaning, presenting above all the traditional sense. They were unknown in two locations, revealing the loss of their vitality.

7. papiar and papilar (verb, ‘speak in a way that is not understood’ or ‘talk too much without been understood’), semantic regionalisms identified only in two inquiry points: ‘to eat’, informant 5 in Funchal, and respondent 6 in Porto Moniz; ‘swallow’, respondent 6, meaning related to the previous, and ‘to speak in a way we cannot understand’, informant 4, but also a ‘person that talks a lot’, informant 5, in Porto Moniz. These words seem to be ancient forms of the Portuguese language, only known with the meaning ‘to speak/talk in a way that is not understood’ by the older speakers of Porto Moniz. In Funchal, the two oldest informants recognize the regionalism as ‘to eat’. The possible correlation between ‘to eat’ and ‘to talk’ is the use of the tongue, and the word papilar can be related to papila (taste bud of the tongue). In the other geographical areas, the speakers did not recognize the words.

8. poita (noun, ‘heavy backside’), a semantic regionalism with the definitions: âncora de um barco (‘boat anchor’), informant 4 in Funchal, and respondent 6 in Câmara de Lobos, the standard meaning; rabo pesado (‘heavy backside’), informant 6 in Funchal, the dialectal meaning of Madeira created by a metaphor through comparison with the ‘boat anchor’; andar um pouco (‘to walk a little’), respondent 5 in Funchal, sense that can be related to walk with difficulty because of a ‘heavy backside’; ponto de arame que prende/segura as estacas da vinha (‘wire point used to hold the grapevine’), informants 1 to 6 in Porto Moniz. There were no answers in Machico and in Ponta do Sol. In the north of the island, Porto Moniz, we found a different meaning related to agriculture instead of fishing, identified by all the informants of this area. These meanings are not recorded in the Madeiran vocabularies consulted (V. Appendix).

9. stique (loan from English stick, noun for ‘inebriation’), an innovative form as semantic regionalism, defined as: vergasta (‘whip’, the literal sense of stick), informant 3 in Funchal; desodorizante (‘deodorant’), the standard meaning, a cognitive process of metonymy through the shape of the object, respondent 5 in Funchal; pessoa vaidosa (‘vain person’), probably a metaphor by comparison with the way the person walks straight like a stick, informant 3 in Câmara de Lobos; maneira de falar diferente (‘speak in a different way’), it can be a semantic extension from the previous sense, respondent 4 in Porto Moniz. There were no answers in Machico and in Ponta do Sol, revealing that the word may be unknown in these areas. None of the meanings corresponds to the regional one documented before and expected, ‘inebriation’.

10. tentaréu (adjective and/or noun, ‘someone that bothers’), a lexical regionalism with the phonetic variant atentaréu, meaning: diabo/inquieto/que atenta (‘devil/restless (person)/that disturbs’), informants 3 to 6 in Funchal, and respondent 1 in Machico; pessoa chata/irritante (‘boring/annoying person’), informants 3 to 6 in Machico, also respondent 3 in Câmara de Lobos, 5 in Ponta do Sol, and 2 to 6 in Porto Moniz, probably a generalization of the previous meanings. 14 informants did not answer the question, revealing that the word is not well known as an old term that is losing vitality.

11. tertilho and entretilho (noun, ‘toy’ or ‘something to entertain a child’), lexical regionalisms probably from the verb entreter (‘entertain’), with the definitions: brinquedo/coisa que entretém (‘toy’), informants 3 to 5 in Funchal, the traditional meaning; pião (‘spinning top’), respondent 6 in Funchal, a specialization in one specific toy; distração/algo com que se ocupar (‘distraction/something to keep busy’), informant 3 in Machico, 2 in Ponta do Sol, and 1 to 4 in Porto Moniz, by a process of generalization; pessoa entretida/alegre (‘funny person’), respondents 5 and 6 in Porto Moniz, probably by contiguity or metonymy of the object to the person; there was no answer in Câmara de Lobos. The words are known mainly in Porto Moniz, but also in Funchal.

12. tratuário (noun, ‘sidewalk’), a lexical regionalism that is a regional French loan from trottoir, with the phonetic variant trotoário, meaning: passeio/calçada (‘promenade/sidewalk’), informants 3 to 6 in Funchal, and respondents 1, 3, 4 and 6 in Machico, as well as informant 2 in Ponta do Sol, and respondents 3 and 4 in Porto Moniz. The word tratuário with its phonetical variant trotoário showed great stability of meaning, but it was recognized only by 11 informants. The continuity in its geographic distribution was interrupted in Câmara de Lobos where there were no answers.

5.2.1. Geographical variables

In Table 7 below, we present the total results of the 30 informants by location. If we compare the total results of the vocabulary known by the 30 informants, Porto Moniz is the area with the most answers with traditional Madeiran meanings (67.9%), followed by Funchal (with 64.1%), and Machico (59.5%). The locations with the lowest percentages are Câmara de Lobos (42.5%) and Ponta do Sol (44.5%) on the south coast. In the middle is Machico, located simultaneously on the north and south coasts of Madeira, being more conservative than the others.

Independently of more urban or rural communities, the geographical areas where the words are most known are Funchal and Porto Moniz, which are the most separate and the most urban and rural, respectively. This proximity between results of Porto Moniz (the most distant rural area) and Funchal perhaps can be explained by the fact that Madeira Island was isolated from the mainland and it was a rural society until thirty years ago, even in Funchal (Carita 2013). Concerning the city of Funchal, another important fact was the internal migration from the rural areas of Madeira Island to the urban area (Nunes 2014) throughout the 20th century. This population settled mainly in the peripheral areas of the city and can explain the diversity of conservative and innovative linguistic forms in the same territory.

In Nunes (2017), a study of several regionalisms in urban Funchal and rural areas of Madeira Island reveals that, although many of the Madeiran regionalisms are of rural origin, as they are related to agricultural activity, they have some vitality in Funchal and are recognized by older informants, probably because peripheral localities of the municipality are represented in the sample; until recently they were rural, as well as being areas that received migrants from rural areas of Madeira Island. The author concludes that the diatopic factor proved to be relevant in the case of the oldest terms that are archaisms, as opposed to the most usual or current ones, which we can observe also in the results of this paper, mainly in the south coast areas of Ponta do Sol and Câmara de Lobos where the oldest words were not recognized. So, these two locations are more innovative areas than Machico which showed better results in the recognition of the traditional meanings of the words. Perhaps this is because Machico was included in the north zone of the island’s division (since its settlement in the 15th century), together with Porto Moniz. Belonging simultaneously to the north and south coast, it is more conservative than the other southern areas.

Nunes (2019a), in a sample of 1st year students at the University of Madeira, concludes that in Funchal 65% of the answers obtained for the meaning of the words tested correspond to the expected concepts, while in the other geographic areas studied the value is 78%. The informants residing in Funchal exhibit 29% different meanings from the regional ones, mainly from standard Portuguese, revealing ignorance of some semantic regionalisms in Madeira, especially when they are archaisms, while in respondents from other municipalities, the author obtained 12% of meanings which are different from the traditional ones expected. It should also be mentioned that in Funchal 94% of the tested lexicon was recognized by the informants, 6% of which was unknown. In rural areas, 90% of the words are known and 10% unknown. These percentages are explained by the fact that some of the tested archaisms exist only in some municipalities in the west and south of the island, as well as loans from Venezuela, being recognized by some informants in Funchal.

Nunes (2019b), about a sample of 3^rd-year students at the University of Madeira, from Funchal and from various rural areas of the island, also concludes that there are no significant differences in the knowledge of the vocabulary tested by locations or by gender, with a linguistic and sociocultural continuity between the different geographic areas studied. This proximity between urban and rural varieties can be explained by the fact that the informants were students who attended the cultural studies course and had had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the sociocultural and linguistic situation of the region, in contrast to 1^st-year students. However, we found no significant differences between Funchal and the rural locations in the results obtained in the two studies.

Another interesting result of this study of the lexical and semantic variation of 40 Madeiran regionalisms is the localisms that have to do with differences between the geographical areas: their main socioeconomic activities and implications for the meanings of the words, like poita, which in the northern area of Porto Moniz means ‘wire to tie vines’, a different sense from the other locations. In Ponta do Sol, there is a particularity in the meanings of the words atrapichar (‘dress up’), and trapichado/trapichento (‘well dressed’), that is the opposite of the senses registered in the other areas: ‘bungler’, and ‘scruffy’ or ‘ill-arranged’. Old people of Ponta do Sol told us that when they go to Funchal, they try to be well dressed and even perfumed with ancient cologne. This can be explained by the fact that rural people in the town were known as burquilha/broquilha, ‘someone that doesn’t know how to dress, behave or speak’ like civilized urbanites.

5.2.2. Social variables

We can ascertain that age group is a very important external variable and is associated with a higher level of education of young people and adults, more so in the city than in rural areas. In general, older speakers know many more regionalisms than younger people, and middle-aged adults know less or as many words as older informants.

The knowledge and the use of Madeiran regionalisms as non-standard variants tend to disappear with the standard European Portuguese imposed by the scholarly norm. This leads to the reduction of the lexical and semantic features that constitute the contemporary Portuguese spoken on the island of Madeira and of its sociocultural variation. However, it is interesting to observe that new meanings emerge from old words, giving them new life with the efficiency and expressiveness characteristic of the Madeiran variety. So, it is not linear that the level of education (increase of urbanization and access to school) leads to unfamiliarity in the knowledge and use of regionalisms. Although young people with a high level of education tend to follow the standard Portuguese language (Teixeira 2015), we verify that in Machico young women know as many regionalisms as old women and that of the three female respondents, the adult women are those that know the highest number of the tested words. In Porto Moniz, young men know as many words as old men, and the adult man with an intermediate level of education is the one that knows more regionalisms.

The age group variable is decisive in almost all researches on social variation of language to see if linguistic changes are taking place. In this study, the use of Madeiran regionalisms which are generally more frequent in the speech of older people, as opposed to younger people, is also visible in our sample, showing the loss of vitality of some lexical units that seem to be archaisms. Nunes (2014) shows that in Funchal, in general, the difference between young people and other speakers is more accentuated than in other areas, regarding the knowledge and use of regionalisms, while adults and older people show similar outcomes. This is also true for the results of this study, revealing the influence of sociocultural and geographic factors of the urban or rural origin of the informants on the recognition and use of Madeiran regionalisms. Yet, in this study, these differences are not so evident, with the results obtained in Funchal and Porto Moniz being close.

We can say the same about sex/gender as a social category. There is apparently no relevant statistical difference between the knowledge of regionalisms rates presented above for women and men. Thereby, we can observe that women are a little more conservative than men, if we look at the results of the older informants of Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Porto Moniz. However, in Funchal they recognized the same number of words, and in Machico men recognized more regionalisms than women. In Nunes (2017), the factors of social variation also were not as relevant as might be expected, with no major differences between speakers of either gender, although women tend to be more conservative in rural areas, especially when it comes to recognizing archaisms. Nunes (2019a) claims that the sociocultural gender factor is relevant, since, in Funchal, women generally lead in knowledge of the Madeiran regional lexicon, as well as of the new registered meanings. The author concludes that, in Funchal and in other geographical areas, women are both more conservative and innovative than men. About different age groups and different levels of education, some differences are noted, again in relation to archaisms. In rural areas, there was no great distinction between the knowledge of regionalisms by young people, adults and the elderly, perhaps because there is greater intergenerational contact.

Despite the numeric limitation of the sample per locality and informant for this survey, to compare different geographical areas, it seems to be representative of the linguistic actuality of the Madeiran variety. Now it is necessary to enlarge the samples to more speakers per area and to the other rural and urban locations of the island to confirm and validate these results. So, we cannot generalize, for example, that women use more linguistic forms of the prestigious standard language than men and that in rural and in peripheral areas of Funchal men lead the change to prestigious forms, or that people with a higher level of education use more the standard Portuguese language than people with poor schooling. Yet, we can verify that older women in rural areas tend to know more regionalisms and their meanings than men. This linguistic situation can be explained by the traditional role of women in Madeiran society, although, in this study, the oldest man in Machico recognized more words with the regional meaning than the woman, and in Funchal they identified the same number of words. In Câmara de Lobos, Ponta do Sol and Porto Moniz, older women revealed greater knowledge of the vocabulary tested than men of the same age group. About the Funchal results, we are witnessing a recent phenomenon of valorization of regionalisms in the urban variety due to a great divulgation of regional traditions correlated with the development of cultural tourism and popular festivities organized in the island for residents and tourists, which contributes to increased awareness of Madeiran linguistic heritage and identity.

The great socioeconomic and touristic development in Madeira is very recent, which is why the 40-year-old generation continues to have rural memories and references that somehow tend to disappear in the new generations (Santos 2013). These rural language experiences are present in almost all the Madeiran regionalisms which reflect the regional identity, namely the sociocultural elements of the popular or traditional knowledge of this insular population. Thereby, this kind of linguistic research contributes towards discussing the multi-dimensional, geographical, historical, and sociocultural characteristics, and consequently the complexity of the Portuguese spoken in Madeira, in urban Funchal and in rural areas.