The Progressive-to-Imperfective shift
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Martín Fuchs
Abstract
Spanish has two markers (claimed to be in free alternation) to convey that an event is in progress at reference time: the Simple Present (e.g., canta, ‘sings’) and the Present Progressive (e.g., está cantando, ‘is singing’). Based on evidence from sentence acceptability studies in three different Spanish dialects, we show that the distribution of the two markers is not random, but sensitive to contextual modulation. Specifically, results show that the (ambiguous) Simple Present is more acceptable in contexts where interlocutors share perceptual access to the event at issue. Otherwise, participants favor the (unambiguous) Present Progressive. We conclude that this variation reflects and is constrained by the well-attested grammaticalization path in which progressive markers gradually generalize to become imperfective markers.
Abstract
Spanish has two markers (claimed to be in free alternation) to convey that an event is in progress at reference time: the Simple Present (e.g., canta, ‘sings’) and the Present Progressive (e.g., está cantando, ‘is singing’). Based on evidence from sentence acceptability studies in three different Spanish dialects, we show that the distribution of the two markers is not random, but sensitive to contextual modulation. Specifically, results show that the (ambiguous) Simple Present is more acceptable in contexts where interlocutors share perceptual access to the event at issue. Otherwise, participants favor the (unambiguous) Present Progressive. We conclude that this variation reflects and is constrained by the well-attested grammaticalization path in which progressive markers gradually generalize to become imperfective markers.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Language acquisition
- The development of intonation in L2 Spanish 11
- Insights into the cognition of mood selection in L2 learners of Spanish 33
- The licensing of wh-in-situ questions 53
- What derivational suffixes should we teach in Spanish as a Second Language courses? 75
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Part II. Theoretical and descriptive approaches
- The seem-class verb paradigm and restructuring in Romance 97
- The Progressive-to-Imperfective shift 119
- The aspectual structure of the adjective 137
- Mood in future-framed adverbials 161
- Syntactic and prosodic marking of subject focus in American English and Peninsular Spanish 183
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Part III. Language contact and variation
- Demystifying Salvadoran [s θ ] 207
- Afro-Peruvian Spanish declarative intonation 229
- Subject-predicate code-switching 249
- The differing behavior of loanwords in the Spanish of technology and of fashion and beauty 265
- Futurity and probability in Spanish as a heritage language 285
- Examining the (mini-) variable swarm in the Spanish of the Southeast 303
- Casting light on the Spanish creole debate 327
- Index 343
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Language acquisition
- The development of intonation in L2 Spanish 11
- Insights into the cognition of mood selection in L2 learners of Spanish 33
- The licensing of wh-in-situ questions 53
- What derivational suffixes should we teach in Spanish as a Second Language courses? 75
-
Part II. Theoretical and descriptive approaches
- The seem-class verb paradigm and restructuring in Romance 97
- The Progressive-to-Imperfective shift 119
- The aspectual structure of the adjective 137
- Mood in future-framed adverbials 161
- Syntactic and prosodic marking of subject focus in American English and Peninsular Spanish 183
-
Part III. Language contact and variation
- Demystifying Salvadoran [s θ ] 207
- Afro-Peruvian Spanish declarative intonation 229
- Subject-predicate code-switching 249
- The differing behavior of loanwords in the Spanish of technology and of fashion and beauty 265
- Futurity and probability in Spanish as a heritage language 285
- Examining the (mini-) variable swarm in the Spanish of the Southeast 303
- Casting light on the Spanish creole debate 327
- Index 343
