John Benjamins Publishing Company
From time to surprise
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Susana Rodríguez Rosique
Abstract
This paper focuses on the meaning and behavior of será posible in Spanish. The structure may have two interpretations: a compositional one (será posible1), which describes a situation that can hold in the future; and a less transparent one (será posible2), related to a negative assessment. The analysis of the different structures invoked by será posible proves that será posible2 is no longer interpreted as a copula in future plus and adjective, but has been reanalyzed as a mirative marker. Despite its fixed behavior, the mirative value seems to be motivated by the deictic nature of the future. The paper introduces a wide definition of this verb form, based on the deictic instruction of ‘distance forward’. Productive, mirative interpretations of the future are analyzed from this perspective and confronted with the mirative será posible. More generally, this paper shows that if a wide definition of grammar is assumed, será posible2 can be considered a case of grammaticalization.
Abstract
This paper focuses on the meaning and behavior of será posible in Spanish. The structure may have two interpretations: a compositional one (será posible1), which describes a situation that can hold in the future; and a less transparent one (será posible2), related to a negative assessment. The analysis of the different structures invoked by será posible proves that será posible2 is no longer interpreted as a copula in future plus and adjective, but has been reanalyzed as a mirative marker. Despite its fixed behavior, the mirative value seems to be motivated by the deictic nature of the future. The paper introduces a wide definition of this verb form, based on the deictic instruction of ‘distance forward’. Productive, mirative interpretations of the future are analyzed from this perspective and confronted with the mirative será posible. More generally, this paper shows that if a wide definition of grammar is assumed, será posible2 can be considered a case of grammaticalization.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part 1. General issues
- Are there two different ways of approaching grammaticalization? 23
- Functional similarity despite geographical distance 55
- Analogy 75
- Central Southern Guangxi as a grammaticalization area 105
- Grammaticalizing connectives in English and discourse information structure 135
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Part 2. Case studies
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The noun phrase
- The grammaticalization of interrogative pronouns into relative pronouns in South-Caucasian languages 163
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The verbal phrase
- From time to surprise 185
- C-gravitation and the grammaticalization degree of “present progressives” in English, French, and Dutch 207
- The avertive and proximative grams in Maltese using the auxiliary għodd 231
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Discourse markers
- Pragmatic uses of nu in Old Saxon and Old English 259
- (Inter)subjectification and paradigmaticization 291
- The development of three classifiers into degree modifier constructions in Chinese 315
- From the inside to the outside of the sentence 333
- The development of the Chinese scalar additive coordinators derived from prohibitives 361
- Cross-varietal diversity in constructional entrenchment 381
- Index 431
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. General issues
- Are there two different ways of approaching grammaticalization? 23
- Functional similarity despite geographical distance 55
- Analogy 75
- Central Southern Guangxi as a grammaticalization area 105
- Grammaticalizing connectives in English and discourse information structure 135
-
Part 2. Case studies
-
The noun phrase
- The grammaticalization of interrogative pronouns into relative pronouns in South-Caucasian languages 163
-
The verbal phrase
- From time to surprise 185
- C-gravitation and the grammaticalization degree of “present progressives” in English, French, and Dutch 207
- The avertive and proximative grams in Maltese using the auxiliary għodd 231
-
Discourse markers
- Pragmatic uses of nu in Old Saxon and Old English 259
- (Inter)subjectification and paradigmaticization 291
- The development of three classifiers into degree modifier constructions in Chinese 315
- From the inside to the outside of the sentence 333
- The development of the Chinese scalar additive coordinators derived from prohibitives 361
- Cross-varietal diversity in constructional entrenchment 381
- Index 431
