Introdução

The aim of this article, inserted in the field of Linguistic Historiography, is to investigate the manifestations of prescriptivism in “A língua do Brasil”, the work with which Gladstone Chaves de Melo initiated his scientific production. The theoretical part of this study is based on the “retrospective horizon”, as established by Auroux (2006). The methodology is based on the theoretical studies by Swiggers (1984), who proposes focusing on different “points of view” in Linguistics. The research concludes that in “A língua do Brasil”, prescriptivism manifests itself in two ways: 1) logical criterion; 2) sarcastic rhetoric. This study concludes that, in Melo’s introductory work, he dedicated himself to defend one norm: the language that joins Brasil and Portugal.