Impersonal se constructions in the Portuguese of East Timor
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Susana Afonso
Abstract
This chapter presents a preliminary discussion on impersonal se constructions produced by East Timorese speakers of Portuguese L2 taking into consideration the interplay between contact and general tendencies of second language acquisition. Data collection comprised the recording of a semi-guided interview with 21 informants living in Portugal and East Timor. Impersonal se constructions were extracted from this corpus. Innovations in the impersonal construction are observed, namely, deletion of the clitic and the rise of the double subject construction in which the actor is encoded both by an overt nominal subject and by the clitic se. The deletion of the clitic corresponds to a simplification of a morphological pattern which matches the morphological make-up of East Timorese languages. The double subject construction, however, corresponds to the emergence of a more complex pattern. Considering that both types of innovations are observed in other vernacular varieties of Portuguese that emerged in very different contact scenarios, this chapter discusses the relation between contact- induced changes and general processes of second language acquisition.
Abstract
This chapter presents a preliminary discussion on impersonal se constructions produced by East Timorese speakers of Portuguese L2 taking into consideration the interplay between contact and general tendencies of second language acquisition. Data collection comprised the recording of a semi-guided interview with 21 informants living in Portugal and East Timor. Impersonal se constructions were extracted from this corpus. Innovations in the impersonal construction are observed, namely, deletion of the clitic and the rise of the double subject construction in which the actor is encoded both by an overt nominal subject and by the clitic se. The deletion of the clitic corresponds to a simplification of a morphological pattern which matches the morphological make-up of East Timorese languages. The double subject construction, however, corresponds to the emergence of a more complex pattern. Considering that both types of innovations are observed in other vernacular varieties of Portuguese that emerged in very different contact scenarios, this chapter discusses the relation between contact- induced changes and general processes of second language acquisition.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Convergence and divergence in Ibero-Romance across contact situations and beyond 1
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Part 1: Convergence and divergence in contact situations in the Iberian Peninsula
- Gender loss in accusative clitics in Basque Spanish 25
- Exploring historical linguistic convergence between Basque and Spanish 55
- Structural convergence of two Ibero-Romance varieties 87
- Language contact on the Spanish- Portuguese border 115
- Portuguese as a contact language in Galicia 147
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Part 2: Convergence and divergence across Ibero-Romance varieties outside Europe
- Linguistic perceptions on Spanglish discourse settings 179
- Building locations from directional prepositions 209
- Discourse structure, constructions and regional variation 245
- Impersonal se constructions in the Portuguese of East Timor 281
- Index 307
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Convergence and divergence in Ibero-Romance across contact situations and beyond 1
-
Part 1: Convergence and divergence in contact situations in the Iberian Peninsula
- Gender loss in accusative clitics in Basque Spanish 25
- Exploring historical linguistic convergence between Basque and Spanish 55
- Structural convergence of two Ibero-Romance varieties 87
- Language contact on the Spanish- Portuguese border 115
- Portuguese as a contact language in Galicia 147
-
Part 2: Convergence and divergence across Ibero-Romance varieties outside Europe
- Linguistic perceptions on Spanglish discourse settings 179
- Building locations from directional prepositions 209
- Discourse structure, constructions and regional variation 245
- Impersonal se constructions in the Portuguese of East Timor 281
- Index 307
