Dialectal variation of the preterit and imperfect
Main Article Content
Abstract
This investigation studies the use of the preterit and imperfect in Puerto Rican and Buenos Aires Spanish. These dialects were chosen because they had different linguistic influence; Puerto Rico had more African influence while Argentina had more Italian influence. This research has three main goals: first, determine which linguistic factors condition the use of these forms in both dialects. Second, contrast the linguistic predictors in both dialects in order to determine if there are dialectal differences. Finally, identify if these differences are explained by synchronic variation between the same forms with different meanings (polysemy) (Torres- Cacoullos, 2001). The results indicate some differences between Puerto Rican Spanish and Buenos Aires Spanish. The significant predictors in Puerto Rican Spanish were the lexical semantics, the specificity of the event, and the use of the adverbs. On the other hand, the specificity of the event, the lexical semantics, and the type of information were significant in Buenos Aires Spanish. The only factors that these dialects had in common were the specificity of the event and the lexical semantics. This evidence indicates that there is dialectal variation regarding the preterit and imperfect. It is suggested that these structures are not as stable as previously thought. It is hypothesized that these differences are the result of the different linguistic influence between Puerto Rican and Buenos Aires Spanish. However, this study did not find that the preterit and imperfect are used with different functions, thus this not provides evidence for polysemy. Furthermore, these findings might indicate that there is variation within a single dialect. However, further research is needed to support this hypothesis.
Downloads
Article Details
The Indiana University Linguistics Club Working Papers (the "Publisher") and Author(s) agree as follows.
1. Publication and Promotion: In consideration of the Publisher's agreement to publish the Work, Author hereby grants and assigns to Publisher the non-exclusive right to print, publish, reproduce, or distribute the Work throughout the world in all means of expression by any method known or hereafter developed, including electronic format. Author further grants Publisher the right to use Author's name in association with the Work in published form and in advertising and promotional materials.
2. Copyright: Copyright of the Work remains in the Author's name.
3. Prior Publication and Attribution: Author agrees not to publish the Work in print form prior to publication of the Work by the Publisher. Author agrees to notify IULCWP before publishing the Work elsewhere.
4. Author Representations: The Author represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author's original Work and that the Author has full power to enter into this Agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property of another; (c) contains no material that is obscene, libelous, or defamatory. Author shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss of expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.
5. Licensing and Reuse: Reuse of the published Work will be governed by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ). This lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the Work non-commercially; although new works must acknowledge the original IULCWP publication and be non-commercial, they do not have to be licensed on the same terms.