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The Spanish ‘present participle’: lexical elaboration of a morphosyntactic gap?

  • Christopher J. Pountain EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 8. Dezember 2022
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Abstract

The Latin present participle in ‑nte(m) did not survive systematically in Romance. In Spanish, although a small number of forms in ‑nte may be considered inherited words, the overwhelming majority are cultured borrowings (cultismos) which hugely contributed to the elaboration of the written language; many have also diffused into everyday usage and are amongst the commonest words in the contemporary language. Such substantial cultural borrowing also paved the way for internal creations and later morphological calques from English forms in ‑ing, as a result of which forms in ‑nte are continuing to grow in both numbers and frequency. However, despite what may be seen as cultured experiments in the more systematic elaboration of a true present participle category in Spanish, forms in ‑nte came into competition with adjectives formed with the agentive suffix ‑dor, in which they were subject to restrictions of both an aspectual and pragmatic nature. This article traces the successful diffusion of ‑nte forms and suggests reasons which hindered their regaining total productivity.

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Appendix A: Preliminary corpus

Words in ‑nte amongst the 5,000 commonest words in modern Spanish, in Davies/Hayward Davies 22017, with exclusions as detailed in 2.

rank word grammatical category corresponding to English
139 durante prep during
147 presidente noun president
171 importante adj important
293 diferente adj different, separate
308 bastante adj/adv enough, plenty of; rather, fairly, quite a bit
350 siguiente adj following, next
616 interesante adj interesting
652 mediante prep by means of
729 ambiente noun environment, atmosphere
781 suficiente adj sufficient, enough
795 estudiante noun student
992 instante noun instant, momento
1062 cliente noun client, customer
1113 presente noun present
1119 paciente noun patient
1121 habitante noun inhabitant
1177 independiente adj independent, self-sufficient
1233 obstante adv however, nevertheless
1281 corriente noun current, flow
1284 reciente adj recent
1353 constante adj constant
1360 dirigente nc leader, director, manager
1405 representante noun representative
1493 agente noun agent
1546 excelente adj excellent
1613 consiguiente conj por c.: consequently
1636 evidente adj evident, obvious
1661 accidente noun accident, irregularity
1702 permanente adj permanent
1801 brillante adj brilliant, shiny, sparkling
1805 repente adv de + r.: suddenly
1810 caliente adj hot, warm, spirited
1862 consciente adj conscious, aware
1904 semejante adj similar, such, alike
1917 correspondiente adj corresponding
1950 continente noun continent
2066 frecuente adj frequent
2105 cantante noun singer
2167 inteligente adj intelligent
2210 amante noun lover
2257 adolescente noun adolescent
2271 existente adj existing
2275 componente noun component, ingredient
2328 creciente adj growing, increasing
2428 visitante noun visitor
2519 procedente adj coming (from)
2580 docente noun teacher
2582 oriente noun East
2636 restaurante noun restaurant
2703 pariente noun relative
2720 impresionante adj impressive, astonishing
2742 elegante adj elegant, smart, stylish
2784 abundante adj abundant, plentiful
2816 gigante noun giant
2827 comandante noun commander, commanding officer
2834 pendiente noun slope, descent; earring
2853 conveniente adj convenient
2919 corriente adj current, common
3008 equivalente noun equivalent
3040 pendiente adj aware of, pending
3056 sorprendente adj surprising, astonishing
3085 participante noun participant
3092 vicepresidente noun vice president
3146 asistente noun assistant
3160 gerente noun manager, director
3171 vigente adj in force, valid
3174 antecedente noun antecedent
3176 gobernante noun ruler, leader
3200 relevante adj relevant, significant
3227 inocente adj innocent, naive
3229 urgente adj urgent
3253 transparente adj transparent, clear
3257 eficiente adj efficient
3289 indiferente adj indifferent
3311 occidente noun West
3350 comerciante noun merchant, businessperson
3391 aparente adj apparent
3519 potente adj potent, powerful
3569 dominante adj dominant, prevailing
3622 inconveniente noun inconvenience, drawback
3662 serpiente noun snake
3679 delincuente noun delinquent
3689 distante adj distant, far, remote
3697 incidente noun incident
3746 aspirante noun candidate, applicant
3770 ardiente adj passionate, ardent
3863 teniente noun lieutenant, deputy mayor
3864 inconsciente adj unconscious, thoughtless
3899 sonriente adj smiling
3950 militante noun member, militant
3979 proveniente adj coming from
3986 expediente noun dossier, proceedings
4005 descendiente noun descendant
4063 ingrediente noun ingredient
4089 competente adj competent, able
4107 ayudante noun helper, assistant
4141 variante noun variant, difference
4183 inmigrante noun immigrant
4313 decente adj respectable, decent
4333 perteneciente adj pertaining, belonging
4353 precedente noun precedent
4354 residente adj resident
4374 referente adj concerning
4390 fabricante noun manufacturer
4417 valiente adj brave, courageous, bold
4425 resistente adj tough, resistant, durable
4503 creyente noun believer, follower
4523 fascinante adj fascinating
4525 volante noun steering wheel
4533 prudente adj sensible, prudent
4671 coherente adj coherent, connected
4674 contundente adj decisive, blunt, forceful
4689 inminente adj imminent
4737 pertinente adj pertinent, relevant
4800 oyente noun listener, hearer
4809 insignificante adj insignificant
4864 impaciente adj impatient
4881 insuficiente adj insufficient
4913 restante adj remaining, left over

Appendix B: Sample of the secondary corpus

The following table gives forms in ‑ante beginning with a from the secondary corpus, a sample which gives a fair flavour of the total, which would have occupied many pages. It will be noted that a number of these words are not present in DLE, which means that they have not yet been admitted into the official standard, despite in some cases being quite substantially attested. Even more are not present in OSD: for this reason, the resources of Linguee have been consulted and the translation equivalents there are shown in round brackets (the data offered by Linguee, based on translations, is very relevant for our investigation because it is precisely through translation that many neologisms, especially calques and cognate cultured borrowings and coinings, gain currency). In square brackets I give my own translations of words which are not in Linguee but can be found on the Internet. This discrepancy amongst the data sources is itself further eloquent testimony to the fact that the process of coining and embedding of forms in ‑ante is still ongoing and that the suffix is extremely productive.

CDE Century of embedding OSD English equivalent/

(Linguee translation/[meaning])
DLE
aberrante 20th aberrant YES
abismante 20th astounding, breathtaking, staggering NO
abrumante 19th (overwhelming, crushing) YES
abusante 20th [abuser] NO
acariciante 19th (caressing) YES
accionante 20th (petitioner, person bringing a legal action) NO
acechante 20th lying in wait YES
acezante 20th puffing and panting NO
acongojante 20th (distressing) YES
actuante 18th (active; acting; actuating) YES
acuciante 20th (instances also in the 18th century) pressing, burning YES
adyuvante 20th (adjuvant) YES
aglutinante 19th agglutinating YES
agobiante 20th exhausting YES
agravante 20th aggravating YES
ahogante 19th (stifling) YES
aislante 20th isolating YES
aleteante 20th (fluttering) NO
alienante 20th alienating YES
alimentante 20th (debtor) YES
alternante 20th (alternating) YES
altoparlante 20th loudspeaker YES
alucinante 20th amazing YES
amargante 20th (instances also in the 14th century) (bitter, astringent) NO
anarquizante 20th (anarchic) YES
angloparlante 20th English-speaking YES
angustiante 20th (instances also in the 14th century) distressing YES
anonadante 20th (striking, breath-taking) YES
anquilosante 20th (ankylosing) YES
anticoagulante 20th anticoagulant YES
anticongelante 20th antifreeze YES
antideslizante 20th antiskid, nonslip YES
antidetonante 20th antiknock agent YES
antiinmigrante 20th (anti-immigrant) NO
antioxidante 20th antioxidant YES
anunciante 20th (advertiser) YES
apabullante 20th resounding, overwhelming, crushing YES
apantallante 20th [captivating; screening][19] NO
apasionante 20th exciting, enthralling YES
aplantante 20th [crushing][20] NO
aportante 20th (supporter) NO
apostante 20th (better, someone who places a bet) YES
apremiante 19th (instances also in the 17th century) pressing, urgent YES
arcaizante 20th archaising YES
asaltante 19th attacking YES
asediante 20th (besieger (n.); stifling (adj.)) YES
asfixiante 19th asphyxiating, stifling YES
asonante 17th assonant YES
asqueante 20th sickening, nauseating NO
atacante 20th infuriating, maddening YES
atemorizante 20th (scary) NO
atenuante 18th extenuating YES
aterrante 19th terrifying NO
atorrante 19th lazy, scruffy, pain in the neck YES
atosigante 20th (hassling, encompassing) NO
autoblocante 20th (self‑locking) NO
autoflagelante 20th (hair-shirt (measures)) [self-harming] NO
avasallante 20th (crushing, overwhelming) YES
Published Online: 2022-12-08
Published in Print: 2022-11-08

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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