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Chapter 7. On deconstructing mood

A construction grammar approach to the Spanish subjunctive
  • Hans-Ingo Radatz
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Constructions in Spanish
This chapter is in the book Constructions in Spanish

Abstract

The Spanish subjunctive has traditionally been described by some linguists as an inflection expressing mood and by others as a marker of subordination. In this contribution I will argue that both functions can be observed, but that Spanish (and Romance) subjunctives increasingly become associated with subordination and lose their modal semantics in the process. I will therefore claim that taking the subjunctive paradigm as a monolithic category with one central semantic value is inadequate for representing all the various constructions in which subjunctive forms appear. As an alternative, I will suggest to model the various Spanish subjunctive constructions within a construction grammar framework informed by Traugott & Trousdale’s work on constructionalisation. An abstract subjunctive schema is posited from which a non-assertion, a modal agreement and a modal trigger subschema are derived. Of these three, two are essentially procedural with little to no semantic content, while only the non-assertion schema partly corresponds semantically to the traditional assertion vs. non-assertion analysis.

Abstract

The Spanish subjunctive has traditionally been described by some linguists as an inflection expressing mood and by others as a marker of subordination. In this contribution I will argue that both functions can be observed, but that Spanish (and Romance) subjunctives increasingly become associated with subordination and lose their modal semantics in the process. I will therefore claim that taking the subjunctive paradigm as a monolithic category with one central semantic value is inadequate for representing all the various constructions in which subjunctive forms appear. As an alternative, I will suggest to model the various Spanish subjunctive constructions within a construction grammar framework informed by Traugott & Trousdale’s work on constructionalisation. An abstract subjunctive schema is posited from which a non-assertion, a modal agreement and a modal trigger subschema are derived. Of these three, two are essentially procedural with little to no semantic content, while only the non-assertion schema partly corresponds semantically to the traditional assertion vs. non-assertion analysis.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Part 1. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1. Construction Grammar meets Hispanic linguistics 2
  5. Part 2. Comparative word-formation constructions
  6. Chapter 2. Collection nouns as a derivational category in Spanish 28
  7. Chapter 3. Lexical reduplication in Spanish and Italian 57
  8. Part 3. Phrase-level constructions
  9. Chapter 4. A constructional approach to causative support verbs in Spanish 78
  10. Chapter 5. From idioms to semi-schematic constructions and vice versa 103
  11. Chapter 6. The construction [ a TODO N sg ] in Spanish 129
  12. Part 4. Abstract and schematic constructions
  13. Chapter 7. On deconstructing mood 156
  14. Chapter 8. Quotative que constructions in Spanish 193
  15. Chapter 9. Que conste/sepas and como si constructions in Spanish 224
  16. Chapter 10. A constructional analysis of digo yo in peninsular Spanish 255
  17. Part 5. Extending the scope of constructionist research on Spanish
  18. Chapter 11. From he aquí to aquí está 280
  19. Chapter 12. On the role of verb-particle constructions in Old Spanish 309
  20. Chapter 13. What can collaboratively produced lists tell us about constructions? 340
  21. Chapter 14. Construction grammar and foreign language learning (L3) 375
  22. Subject index 405
  23. Construction index 408
https://doi.org/10.1075/cal.34.07rad

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Part 1. Introduction
  4. Chapter 1. Construction Grammar meets Hispanic linguistics 2
  5. Part 2. Comparative word-formation constructions
  6. Chapter 2. Collection nouns as a derivational category in Spanish 28
  7. Chapter 3. Lexical reduplication in Spanish and Italian 57
  8. Part 3. Phrase-level constructions
  9. Chapter 4. A constructional approach to causative support verbs in Spanish 78
  10. Chapter 5. From idioms to semi-schematic constructions and vice versa 103
  11. Chapter 6. The construction [ a TODO N sg ] in Spanish 129
  12. Part 4. Abstract and schematic constructions
  13. Chapter 7. On deconstructing mood 156
  14. Chapter 8. Quotative que constructions in Spanish 193
  15. Chapter 9. Que conste/sepas and como si constructions in Spanish 224
  16. Chapter 10. A constructional analysis of digo yo in peninsular Spanish 255
  17. Part 5. Extending the scope of constructionist research on Spanish
  18. Chapter 11. From he aquí to aquí está 280
  19. Chapter 12. On the role of verb-particle constructions in Old Spanish 309
  20. Chapter 13. What can collaboratively produced lists tell us about constructions? 340
  21. Chapter 14. Construction grammar and foreign language learning (L3) 375
  22. Subject index 405
  23. Construction index 408
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