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Abstract

This chapter focuses on a set of expressive constructions in Spanish, with special reference to Rioplatense Spanish, a dialect spoken in Argentina. A Kaplanian perspective on meaning is adopted, according to which representational and expressive meanings are modeled in separated dimensions. The representational dimension is analyzed with the usual tools of possible world semantics, whereas expressive meanings are formally captured by relating linguistic expressions to sets of contexts, which ultimately provide use-conditions under which expressive correctness is evaluated. Syntax plays a crucial role in the derivation of use-conditions, whose calculus depends on different syntactic manipulations (e.g.. expletivization or expressive agreement/movement) that connect grammar to contextual factors. Adjective expressives in prenominal position (e.g. "maldito" ‘damn’), mixed expressives in postnominal position (e.g., "un libro de mierda" ‘a shitty book’), epithets (e.g., "el idiota de Andrés" ‘that idiot Andrés’), slurs (e.g., "Andrés es sudaca" ‘Andrés is South-American(pejorative)’), expressive intensifers (e.g., the degree prefix "re-" or the size adjective "alto/a" ‘tall’ in prenominal position) and different types of honorifics (e.g., "don Andrés" ‘HON Andrés’, "la señora abogada" ‘the Mrs. lawyer’) are discussed, then, under this syntactic-semantic approach.

Details

1009240
Location
Title
Expressivity in Spanish
Publication title
LingBuzz; Tromso
Publication year
2024
Publication date
May 2024
Publisher
Universitetet i Tromsoe
Place of publication
Tromso
Country of publication
Norway
Publication subject
Source type
Working Paper
Language of publication
English
Document type
Journal Article
Publication history
 
 
Milestone dates
2024-04-01 (version 1)
ProQuest document ID
3049760088
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/working-papers/expressivity-spanish/docview/3049760088/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
© 2024. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the associated terms available at https://ling.auf.net/buzzdocs/
Last updated
2025-11-08
Database
ProQuest One Academic