Discourse Topic and (De)queísmo: A Variationist Study of the Spanish of Caracas
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Abstract
The current study analyzes variation in (de)queísmo, the post-verbal use of the preposition de prior to the complementizer que and the verbs declarative component, in the Estudio Sociolingüístico de Caracas corpus (1987). In accord with Schwenter (1999), linguistic factors considered include the subject of the main clause, the tense of the main clause verb, and the presence of intervening words, in addition to a new variable: discourse topic. Since de is often used as an evidential marker that distances the speaker from the following propositional content (Schwenter, 1999), it was hypothesized that it should more frequently co-occur with more charged / controversial topics for reasons of mitigation. The extra-linguistic factors analyzed include speaker age, sex, and socioeconomic level.
Overall, dequeísmo was found to be much less prevalent than queísmo in the data. The new variable included in the current study, discourse topic, was chosen as the first significant factor group in both regression models. A clear difference was seen between charged contexts and neutral contexts, indicating the ability of de to provide a mitigating buffer prior to emotionally-charged propositional content. Limitations of the current study are also discussed.
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