Abstract
This chapter focuses on some of the most recent grammaticalization processes that the Spanish lexical item igual has undergone and its consequences over nano- and micro-parametric variations. While in Peninsular Spanish the grammaticalization of igual resulted in an epistemic modality marker expressing uncertainty, in Argentinean Spanish, the grammaticalization gave rise to an operator of concession. We examine the hypothesis that transition from lexical categories to purely functional categories involves intermediate stages of semi-lexicalization. These semi-lexical stages are the result of insertion of a root in the functional domain of another root. On this view, there have been many forking paths in the grammaticalization process of the adjective igual, which led to the emergence of different semi-lexical words. We suggest that the epistemic and the concessive uses of igual are the result of two different grammaticalization paths, which bifurcate at a stage where igual gets the value of a focalizing adverb. Therefore, the present case study shows that certain dialectal differences arise only when the grammaticalization path includes higher layers of the functional skeleton.
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Notes
- 1.
We use the terms Peninsular Spanish, American Spanish, and Argentinean Spanish for simplicity. Each term should be understood as referring to a relevant set of varieties spoken in those territories. Although the phenomena analyzed here cannot be circumscribed to a single variety or country, it is worth noting that the epistemic igual is characteristic of most of the varieties spoken in Spain and the concessive igual is typical of the varieties spoken in Argentina. In this paper we study mainly the Argentinean and the Peninsular values of igual, but much work remains to be done with respect to the diatopic variation of these uses.
- 2.
- 3.
Besides the comparative use, the adjective igual has a purely lexical meaning equivalent to plano “plain”: una tierra muy igual “very plain lowlands.”
- 4.
The Diccionario de americanismos (DAMER) records this value in Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, República Domincana, Cuba, and Panama. Nevertheless, given the complexity of the data, research on the uses and properties of igual in these varieties would be required.
- 5.
In this context, there could also be a coordinating aunque [“even though”], like in (i):
(i) Cayó ayer ante Rusia, aunque se clasificó igual.
“It was defeated by Russia even though it could classify anyway.”
Interestingly, when igual is combined with the coordinating aunque, it also conveys the epistemic value, which is characteristic of the Peninsular varieties:
(ii) Hacer esto es un poco triste, aunque igual es porque lo hago mal.
“Doing this is a bit sad, yet it may be because I do it poorly.”
- 6.
It is worth noting, however, that the enphatic nomás is more restricted than igual with respect to its positions in the clause. In fact, nomás appears almost exclusively in the final position.
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Corpora
CREA= Real Academia Española, Corpus de Referencia del Español Actual.
CdE= Mark Davies, Corpus del Español.
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Acknowledgments
We want to thank the editors for inviting us to participate in this project. We are very grateful for the detailed and insightful comments we received from them. All errors and omissions are our own. Also, we would like to thank Juan José Arias and Rocío Maure for helping us with the proofreading and English writing of the paper and Romina Trebisacce for the discussion on some examples.
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Di Tullio, Á.L., Pujalte, M., Zdrojewski, P. (2023). The Grammaticalization of Igual in Argentinean Spanish. In: Rodrigues, C., Saab, A. (eds) Formal Approaches to Languages of South America. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22344-0_6
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