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ETD Abstract Container

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The Spanish postnominal demonstrative in synchrony and diachrony

Alexander, David B.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1189813638

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Spanish and Portuguese.
In contrast to languages such as English, Spanish exhibits a dual placement of the demonstrative: Ese hombre DEM N El hombre ese ART N DEM ‘That man’ I account for the Spanish postnominal demonstrative by investigating data in the synchronic and diachronic corpora to track the source of the demonstrative construction and its textual context. In this vein, a framework that categorizes referring expressions with regards to their information structure better explains the Spanish data and the development of the construction in question. Using an applicable discourse framework, the diachronic data is then compared with synchronic examples in order to elucidate the function of the marked syntax of the demonstrative. A specific aim of the present investigation is to clarify the role of the post-posed demonstrative in the “pejorative” use frequently commented on in the literature. In fact, the displaced demonstrative is found to encode primarily hearer-old information where the affective or qualitative function is only the most salient part of a larger pattern. This pattern extends from the first attestation of Spanish postnominal construction in the 14th century up to the present day.
Dieter Wanner (Advisor)
Language, Linguistics
Spanish; demonstratives; postnominal; historical linguistics; diachrony; romance linguistics; deixis; pejorative

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Alexander, D. B. (2007). The Spanish postnominal demonstrative in synchrony and diachrony [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1189813638

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Alexander, David. The Spanish postnominal demonstrative in synchrony and diachrony. 2007. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1189813638.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Alexander, David. "The Spanish postnominal demonstrative in synchrony and diachrony." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1189813638

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1189813638
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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.