This dissertation compiles a series of studies representing the successive stages on my doctoral research on verbal constructions with possessive pronouns in Spanish dialects. In recent years, the use of possessive complements instead of prepositional ones in the Spanish verbal domain (e.g. confía mío vs confía en mí ‘(s)he trusts me’) has received increased interest among linguists, along with other emergent uses of possessives constructions beyond the nominal domain, such as the adverbial (e.g. detrás mío vs. detrás de mí ‘behind me’) and the adjectival ones (e.g. enfrente tuyo vs enfrente de ti ‘in front of you’). This phenomenon, although considered by prescriptive grammars as non-normative, still lies within the realm of possibilities of the Spanish syntactic system. As previous accounts have shown (Malcuori 2014, Bertolotti 2014, 2017, Mare 2014, 2015), the syntactic equivalence between prepositional (de mí, de ti…) and possessive constructions (mío, tuyo…) in possessive constructions extends to other domains, such as the verbal one. This equivalence has led to a categorial reanalysis (Bertolotti 2014, 2017; cf. Elvira 2015) in which tonic possessives acquire innovative functions. While in the nominal domain these structures are encoded as modifiers of the lexical head (recuerdo {de mí, mío}), in other domains they behave as the primary complements of an adverb (detrás), an adjective (alejado), or a verb (acordarse). The introductory chapter is structured as follows: firstly, it provides an overview on the Spanish possessive system and the phenomenon under study, as well as its distribution across the Ibero-Romance varieties (Spanish and Galician). I then summarize the main empirical and theoretical findings related to the use of tonic possessives as non-nominal arguments (Bertolotti 2014, 2017, 2018; Mare 2014, 2015; Marttinen Larsson 2022, among others), followed by a reconstruction of the analogical extension development of the possessives (explained here as a K/P analogy: casa de ella > casa suya leads to habla de ella > habla suyo). Once a de-PP has been reanalyzed as KP in verbal PP complements under analogy with possessive constructions, this option is extended to PPs with other prepositions (de > a, en). Next, an explanation of the structural impoverishment of the possessive pronouns is sketched, building on Breitbarth & Farasyn's (2016, 2021) analysis of the internal structure of pronouns, and its implications for the development of Spanish transitivity phenomena are discussed (Casanova 2021a, 2021b). This section serves as a theoretical linking to the empirical data, which is presented in the next chapters. The following sections provide an overview on the data/methodology, the research questions, and a summary of the compiled articles. Chapters 2-5 reunite the articles that were published during the doctoral research period (2018-2022). In the first three studies (Casanova 2020, 2021b; Casanova & Pato 2022) we focus on various lexical and grammatical questions regarding these complements: which verbal classes are affected by this replacement? Which prepositions? Which possessive features are kept? Do verbal possessives behave like their nominal counterparts? Since this type of construction does not show up in traditional corpora, we resorted to Twitter data, as well as online surveys, to assess this phenomenon. Among other findings, we demonstrate that tonic possessives are extending their use to other verbal predicates that select prepositions other than de (the preposition that inherits the function of the Latin genitive case) such as a or en. Most of the verbs affected by this restructuring process belong to semantic classes that designate cognitive events (sensation, communication, displacement, perception, belief, and possession). Among these verbs, atelic predicates are most likely to trigger these possessive complements. On the other hand, depender-type verbs (‘to depend’), that is, verbs that take internal arguments (cf. Demonte 1991) are the only ones that admit the PREP/POSS alternation: possessives are absent within the group of consistir-type verbs (‘to consist of’) that appear with a small clause. The grammatical features of verbal possessives where also assessed in this study. In Rioplatense and Venezuelan varieties –where most examples where found–, the possessives maintain the -o suffix regardless of the gender of the possessor. In line with previous findings, the PREP/POSS alternation is most commonly seen with the first and second-singular person – two pronouns that carry the deictic information –. Given the ambiguity of the third-person possessive (suyo), PPs are preferred for referring to the third person (él, ella). Plural possessives (nuestro, vuestro), on the other hand, are rarely attested, and neither is the syntactic freedom of movement that otherwise characterizes Spanish verbal complementation (Confía en mí ~ En mí confía, but Confía mío ~ *Mío confía). Unlike nominal alternations, documented in all Spanish dialects – regardless of sociopragmatic factors, cf. RAE/ASALE 2009; Di Tullio & Pato 2022 –, the PREP/POSS alternation in the adverbial, verbal, and adjectival domains is restricted to the colloquial speech of a few Spanish vernacular varieties (cf. Campos 1978; Silva Domínguez 1995; Bertolotti 2014, 2017; Bouzouita & Casanova 2017, 2018; Casanova 2021a, 2021b, 2022; Bouzouita, Castillo Lluch & Pato 2021), similarly to what happens in Galician varieties, where adverbial (and even verbal) possessives are also documented in oral speech. While in the adverbial domain “a equivalencia entre as dúas unidades establecida polos falantes supera a regulamentación normativa” (Silva Domínguez 1995: 10), in the verbal predicate the PREP/POSS alternation is perceived as non-correct and inappropriate. Still, verbal possessives are perceived by speakers as comprehensible, functional units that carry the same meaning as the PPs they replace. In the final chapter (§ 6 Conclusions), I summarize the main findings of this research, namely, the extension of possessives to complements introduced by other prepositions (de > a, en), the type of verbal predicates that admit a possessive pronoun as an internal argument, the ‘transitivization’ process in which some of these predicates seem to the involved (abusarme < abusar mío< abusar de mí; ‘abuse me < abuse mine < abuse of me’), and the linguistic perceptions of speakers, who point out the functional equivalence of the alternating structures ‘de + personal pronoun ~ possessive pronoun’. Then I return to the discussion on the grammatical status of possessive pronouns, following a recap of our theoretical interpretation on the analogical extension development and the internal structure of these pronouns. Finally, I point out the main questions that remain to be explored and outline the lines of research that will be pursued in future work.
Las construcciones verbales con pronombres posesivos en las variedades del español: un estudio gramatical y sociolinguístico
Casanova Romero V
2023-01-01
Abstract
This dissertation compiles a series of studies representing the successive stages on my doctoral research on verbal constructions with possessive pronouns in Spanish dialects. In recent years, the use of possessive complements instead of prepositional ones in the Spanish verbal domain (e.g. confía mío vs confía en mí ‘(s)he trusts me’) has received increased interest among linguists, along with other emergent uses of possessives constructions beyond the nominal domain, such as the adverbial (e.g. detrás mío vs. detrás de mí ‘behind me’) and the adjectival ones (e.g. enfrente tuyo vs enfrente de ti ‘in front of you’). This phenomenon, although considered by prescriptive grammars as non-normative, still lies within the realm of possibilities of the Spanish syntactic system. As previous accounts have shown (Malcuori 2014, Bertolotti 2014, 2017, Mare 2014, 2015), the syntactic equivalence between prepositional (de mí, de ti…) and possessive constructions (mío, tuyo…) in possessive constructions extends to other domains, such as the verbal one. This equivalence has led to a categorial reanalysis (Bertolotti 2014, 2017; cf. Elvira 2015) in which tonic possessives acquire innovative functions. While in the nominal domain these structures are encoded as modifiers of the lexical head (recuerdo {de mí, mío}), in other domains they behave as the primary complements of an adverb (detrás), an adjective (alejado), or a verb (acordarse). The introductory chapter is structured as follows: firstly, it provides an overview on the Spanish possessive system and the phenomenon under study, as well as its distribution across the Ibero-Romance varieties (Spanish and Galician). I then summarize the main empirical and theoretical findings related to the use of tonic possessives as non-nominal arguments (Bertolotti 2014, 2017, 2018; Mare 2014, 2015; Marttinen Larsson 2022, among others), followed by a reconstruction of the analogical extension development of the possessives (explained here as a K/P analogy: casa de ella > casa suya leads to habla de ella > habla suyo). Once a de-PP has been reanalyzed as KP in verbal PP complements under analogy with possessive constructions, this option is extended to PPs with other prepositions (de > a, en). Next, an explanation of the structural impoverishment of the possessive pronouns is sketched, building on Breitbarth & Farasyn's (2016, 2021) analysis of the internal structure of pronouns, and its implications for the development of Spanish transitivity phenomena are discussed (Casanova 2021a, 2021b). This section serves as a theoretical linking to the empirical data, which is presented in the next chapters. The following sections provide an overview on the data/methodology, the research questions, and a summary of the compiled articles. Chapters 2-5 reunite the articles that were published during the doctoral research period (2018-2022). In the first three studies (Casanova 2020, 2021b; Casanova & Pato 2022) we focus on various lexical and grammatical questions regarding these complements: which verbal classes are affected by this replacement? Which prepositions? Which possessive features are kept? Do verbal possessives behave like their nominal counterparts? Since this type of construction does not show up in traditional corpora, we resorted to Twitter data, as well as online surveys, to assess this phenomenon. Among other findings, we demonstrate that tonic possessives are extending their use to other verbal predicates that select prepositions other than de (the preposition that inherits the function of the Latin genitive case) such as a or en. Most of the verbs affected by this restructuring process belong to semantic classes that designate cognitive events (sensation, communication, displacement, perception, belief, and possession). Among these verbs, atelic predicates are most likely to trigger these possessive complements. On the other hand, depender-type verbs (‘to depend’), that is, verbs that take internal arguments (cf. Demonte 1991) are the only ones that admit the PREP/POSS alternation: possessives are absent within the group of consistir-type verbs (‘to consist of’) that appear with a small clause. The grammatical features of verbal possessives where also assessed in this study. In Rioplatense and Venezuelan varieties –where most examples where found–, the possessives maintain the -o suffix regardless of the gender of the possessor. In line with previous findings, the PREP/POSS alternation is most commonly seen with the first and second-singular person – two pronouns that carry the deictic information –. Given the ambiguity of the third-person possessive (suyo), PPs are preferred for referring to the third person (él, ella). Plural possessives (nuestro, vuestro), on the other hand, are rarely attested, and neither is the syntactic freedom of movement that otherwise characterizes Spanish verbal complementation (Confía en mí ~ En mí confía, but Confía mío ~ *Mío confía). Unlike nominal alternations, documented in all Spanish dialects – regardless of sociopragmatic factors, cf. RAE/ASALE 2009; Di Tullio & Pato 2022 –, the PREP/POSS alternation in the adverbial, verbal, and adjectival domains is restricted to the colloquial speech of a few Spanish vernacular varieties (cf. Campos 1978; Silva Domínguez 1995; Bertolotti 2014, 2017; Bouzouita & Casanova 2017, 2018; Casanova 2021a, 2021b, 2022; Bouzouita, Castillo Lluch & Pato 2021), similarly to what happens in Galician varieties, where adverbial (and even verbal) possessives are also documented in oral speech. While in the adverbial domain “a equivalencia entre as dúas unidades establecida polos falantes supera a regulamentación normativa” (Silva Domínguez 1995: 10), in the verbal predicate the PREP/POSS alternation is perceived as non-correct and inappropriate. Still, verbal possessives are perceived by speakers as comprehensible, functional units that carry the same meaning as the PPs they replace. In the final chapter (§ 6 Conclusions), I summarize the main findings of this research, namely, the extension of possessives to complements introduced by other prepositions (de > a, en), the type of verbal predicates that admit a possessive pronoun as an internal argument, the ‘transitivization’ process in which some of these predicates seem to the involved (abusarme < abusar mío< abusar de mí; ‘abuse me < abuse mine < abuse of me’), and the linguistic perceptions of speakers, who point out the functional equivalence of the alternating structures ‘de + personal pronoun ~ possessive pronoun’. Then I return to the discussion on the grammatical status of possessive pronouns, following a recap of our theoretical interpretation on the analogical extension development and the internal structure of these pronouns. Finally, I point out the main questions that remain to be explored and outline the lines of research that will be pursued in future work.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
