The Use of the Preterite and the Present Perfect in the Spanish of Lima
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE USE OF THE PRETERITE AND THE PRESENT PERFECT IN THE SPANISH OF LIMA by Ileana Margarita Jara Yupanqui B.A. Hispanic Linguistics, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 1988 M.A. Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh, 2002 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Hispanic Languages and Literatures University of Pittsburgh 2006 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Ileana Margarita Jara Yupanqui It was defended on May 04, 2006 and approved by Scott Kiesling, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics Christina Paulston, Professor Emerita, Department of Linguistics Bruce Stiehm, Professor Emeritus, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures Dissertation Advisor: Pascual José Masullo, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics ii Copyright © by Ileana Margarita Jara Yupanqui 2006 iii THE USE OF THE PRETERITE AND THE PRESENT PERFECT IN THE SPANISH OF LIMA Ileana Margarita Jara Yupanqui, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2006 This is a study of the use of the present perfect and the preterite in the Spanish of Lima, Peru. It explores whether specific linguistic factors, such as situation type, temporal adverbials and type of speech, as well as social factors, such as age, gender and social stratum have an effect on the use of these verb forms. It also aims to find out whether the frequency of the preterite is increasing or not through time, and whether there is evidence of a change in progress. The study also discusses the extent to which the distribution of the preterite and the present perfect in the Limeño variety reflects a process of dialect and language contact. This is an experimental study that uses a questionnaire as a data-collecting instrument, created with the purpose of comparing the same linguistic context and tense choice. This study involves sixty-four participants, all of them Limeño Spanish monolinguals. Results show a significant effect of the linguistic factors on the selection of the preterite and the present perfect, as well as of their interactions with social factors. They also give evidence of different patterns of tense choice according to social to strata, which seem to be linked to language contact. Results also provide evidence of the interface between lexical properties and the grammatical categories of external aspect and tense, thus giving information about how the language components interact, and indirectly supporting a modular approach to the study of language. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE...................................................................................................................................XV 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 2.0 CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK..................................................... 3 2.1 DIACHRONIC PERSPECTIVE........................................................................ 3 2.1.1 The Preterite and the Present Perfect through Time ................................ 4 2.1.2 About the Formation of Latin American Spanish ..................................... 7 2.1.3 Dialect Contact and Koinéization in Iberian and Latin American Spanish 10 2.2 SYNCHRONIC PERSPECTIVE..................................................................... 12 2.2.1 The Preterite and the Present Perfect: Grammatical Issues .................. 12 2.2.1.1 Tense .................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1.2 Aspect................................................................................................... 18 2.2.1.3 The Interaction between Internal and External Aspect.................. 25 2.2.1.4 Viewpoint and Tense: The Preterite and the Present Perfect in Limeño Spanish.................................................................................................. 32 2.2.2 Reported Speech.......................................................................................... 36 2.2.3 Adverbs in Combination with the Preterite and the Present Perfect .... 40 2.2.4 Sociolinguistic Issues Related to the Preterite and the Present Perfect.45 2.2.4.1 Variation, Language Change and Social Variables......................... 45 2.2.4.2 Syntactic Variation and Variation in Verb Tense ........................... 50 2.2.4.3 Discourse Functions and Tense Variable ......................................... 60 2.2.5 Panorama of the Preterite and the Present Perfect in Spanish Varieties 64 2.2.5.1 Spain and the Canary Islands............................................................ 65 v 2.2.5.2 The Americas ...................................................................................... 69 2.2.5.3 The General Panorama ...................................................................... 79 2.2.6 Exploratory Study....................................................................................... 82 2.2.6.1 Sample.................................................................................................. 82 2.2.6.2 Data Collection Instrument ............................................................... 83 2.2.6.3 Data Analysis....................................................................................... 83 2.3 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES AND QUESTIONS......................................... 93 2.3.1 Hypotheses................................................................................................... 93 2.3.2 Questions...................................................................................................... 93 3.0 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY............................................................................ 95 3.1 TYPE OF METHODOLOGY.......................................................................... 95 3.1.1 The Participants.......................................................................................... 96 3.1.2 Data Collection Instrument...................................................................... 103 3.1.3 Sampling Method...................................................................................... 106 3.1.4 Type of Analysis........................................................................................ 107 3.1.4.1 Logistic Regression Variable Selection Methods........................... 108 3.1.4.2 Variables in the Equation ................................................................ 110 3.1.4.3 Variables not in the Equation.......................................................... 111 4.0 CHAPTER 3: FREQUENCY RESULTS .............................................................. 114 4.1 TYPE A ENTRY FREQUENCIES................................................................ 115 4.1.1 Entries with Stative Verbs........................................................................ 115 4.1.2 Entries with Activity Verbs...................................................................... 119 4.1.3 Entries with Accomplishment Verbs....................................................... 121 4.1.4 Entries with Achievement Verbs ............................................................. 124 4.1.5 Entries with Semelfactive Verbs.............................................................. 126 4.2 TYPE B ENTRY FREQUENCIES ................................................................ 129 4.2.1 Entries with Stative Verbs........................................................................ 129 4.2.2 Entries with Activity Verbs...................................................................... 131 4.2.3 Entries with Accomplishment Verbs....................................................... 134 4.2.4 Entries with Achievement Verbs ............................................................. 136 4.2.5 Entries with Semelfactive verbs............................................................... 138 vi 4.3 TYPE C ENTRY FREQUENCIES................................................................ 141 4.3.1 Entry with Stative Verb............................................................................ 141 4.3.2 Entry with Activity Verb.......................................................................... 142 4.3.3 Entry with Semelfactive Verb.................................................................. 144 4.3.4 Entries with Accomplishment and Achievement Verbs........................ 145 4.4 SUMMARY...................................................................................................... 147 5.0 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS OF LOGISTIC REGRESSION.................................. 149 5.1 ANALYSIS OF LINGUISTIC FACTORS ................................................... 149 5.1.1 Situation Type ........................................................................................... 150 5.1.1.1 Situation Type and Tense................................................................. 150 5.1.1.2 Situation Type and Adverbials........................................................ 154 5.1.1.3 Situation Type and Type of Speech................................................. 156 5.1.2 Adverbials.................................................................................................. 158 5.1.2.1 Adverbials and Tense ....................................................................... 158 5.1.2.2 Adverbials and Situation Type........................................................ 159 5.1.2.3 Adverbials and Type