Vocative Specialization and Morphological Variation: The Case of Parce in Colombian Spanish
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Abstract
This article examines the morphophonological phenomenon by which the noun parcero/a is reduced to parce when used in the vocative case in Colombian Spanish. The analysis begins with a characterization of parlache, a variety that emerged in Medellín during the 1980s and subsequently expanded across social strata and media outlets. Drawing on a corpus that includes classroom interactions, spontaneous conversations, WhatsApp exchanges, music, and television, this study explores the discursive functions of parce—particularly its deictic, appellative, and phatic values—in contrast with parcero/a, which retains gender and number inflection in the remaining cases (nominative, accusative, dative, and prepositional). The article concludes that parce constitutes a specialized vocative form, comparable to other grammaticalized appellatives and insults, and proposes its inclusion within the category of “quality nouns.” The findings underscore its relevance for research on variation, identity, and the teaching of Spanish.
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