Grammaticization, synchronic variation, and language contact : a study of Spanish progressive -ndo constructions / Rena Torres Cacoullos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Torres Cacoullos, Rena.

Series:

Studies in language companion series ; v. 52.

Studies in language companion series ; v. 52

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spanish language--Gerund.

Spanish language.

Spanish language--Adverbials.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 252 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : J. Benjamins, c2000.

Summary:

This study of Old Spanish and present-day Mexico and New Mexico data develops a grammaticization account of variation in progressive constructions. Diachronic changes in cooccurrence patterns show that grammaticization involves reductive change driven by frequency increases. Formal reduction results in the emergence of auxilliary-plus-gerund sequences as fused units. Semantically, the constructions originate as spatial expressions; their grammaticization involves gradual loss of locative features of meaning. Semantic generalization among parallel evolutionary paths results in the competition among different constructions in the domain of progressive aspect. Patterns of synchronic variation follow from both the retention of meaning differences and the routinization of frequent collocations, as well as sociolinguistic factors. Register considerations turn out to be crucial in evaluating the effects of language contact. Purported changes in Spanish - English bilingual varieties are largely a feature of oral, informal language rather than a manifestation of convergence.

Contents:

GRAMMATICIZATION, SYNCHRONIC VARIATION, AND LANGUAGE CONTACT; Editorial page; Title page; LCC data; Dedication; Table of contents; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1. Introduction; Chapter 2. Formal reduction in grammaticization: Diachronic changes in the form of -ndo constructions; Chapter 3. Evidence for semantic reduction: Changing patterns of cooccurring locative and temporal expressions; Chapter 4. Frequency effects and layering in the domain of progressive aspect: The shifting semantic territory of -ndo constr; Chapter 5. From progressive to experiential habitual; Conclusion; References

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [231]-242) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-16293-4

9786612162930

90-272-9870-X

OCLC:

70764495