An Amphichronic Analysis of Modals of Necessity in Cuban Spanish

An Amphichronic Analysis of Modals of Necessity in Cuban Spanish Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By James A. Leow, M.A. Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2020 Dissertation Committee: Professor Terrell A. Morgan, Advisor Professor Ashwini Deo Professor Scott A. Schwenter c 2020 James A. Leow ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Abstract The present study is an analysis of two innovative uses of grammatical forms in the future domain of expression in Cuban Spanish. These are the past prospective construction iba a, which is acquiring uses as a hypothetical marker, and the obligation construction tener que, which is acquiring uses as a future marker. Two naturally-occurring examples of these phenomena are exemplified below. (1) [Context: Yuleidys is calling a bed and breakfast to confirm a reservation on behalf of her brother. She says:] a. Estoy llamando por mi hermano que tiene que quedarse en tu casa. ‘I’m calling on behalf of my brother who is going to stay in your house.’ b. Expected interpretation: ‘I’m calling on behalf of my brother who has to stay in your house.’ (2) [Context: Odaisy is discussing her young son’s eating preferences. The only thing he is willing to consume for breakfast are crackers and juice. There have been recent shortages and crackers are no longer available in the stores:] a. Que´ bueno que todav´ıa hay jugo. Si no, iba a pasarla mal. ‘It’s good that there is still juice. If not, he would have a hard time.’ b. Expected interpretation: ‘It’s good that there is still juice. If not, he was gonna have a hard time.’ The present study will take an amphichronic semantic approach to the relevant phenomena. An ‘amphichronic’ approach has roots in grammaticalization theory (Bybee et al., 1994; Traugott & i Dasher, 2001) and is closely related to the emerging field of diachronic semantics (Deo, 2015a). This approach uses historical corpus analysis and experimental data to develop an account of the meaning of the innovative expressions, incorporating both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Using the tools of formal semantics, this approach seeks to develop a precise definition of the meaning of the grammatical phenomena under study at each relevant stage in their history. The principle semantic contribution of the present work is a constraint on the Kratzerian ordering source, such that all propositions in an ordering source are biconditional generalizations. I further constrain the ordering source by proposing that there are two principle categories of generalizations: universal generalizations and action-oriented preferences. It is from these two categories and a subsetting of these categories called an environmental state that all modal necessity meanings for the grammatical elements under study can be derived. To test the theoretical analysis, I conducted semantic interviews with Spanish speakers in Cuba (n=44), presenting speakers with pairs of target sentences in controlled contexts. Each pair of sentences contained an innovative form and its canonical counterpart. Acceptability ratings from speakers confirmed that tener que is recruited into the future domain to mark (reasonably) abso- lute statements about the future. In particular, qualitative data suggests that Cuban Speakers are recruiting tener que as a conventional way to express future statements based on the characteristic behavior of an agent. A historical variationist corpus analysis (Tagliamonte, 2012) of ir a revealed that, when both semantic and morphosyntactic factors were taken into account, the evolution of the motion construction ir ‘to go’ + a ‘in order to’ into the Spanish Periphrastic Future did not consist of an intention stage of meaning—a conclusion that runs contrary to the hypotheses of prior research. Rather, when the construction was undergoing reanalysis in the 17th century, presumed settledness (cf. Kaufmann, 2005) accounts for non-motion readings of the construction. From this data, I propose that the motion construction was recruited in the future domain as an environmental state future construction. Through an acceptability judgment task, I demonstrate that Cuban speakers are recruiting iba a—the past form of the Periphrastic Future—into the hypothetical domain in ii order to express a sub-class of hypothetical meanings that I characterize as environmental state readings: expressions of premeditated choices and choices that are constrained by external factors. Taken together these analyses suggest that the future domain of meaning is, in fact, bifurcated into two readings: (1) generalization future and (2) environmental state. The innovations studied in this dissertation show that speakers are sensitive to this distinction when recruiting new grammatical material into the future and hypothetical domains of meaning. iii Acknowledgments No dissertation is written alone. So many have supported me in my personal and academic devel- opment through graduate school that it is hard to know where to begin. It makes sense, I suppose, to begin with Terrell A. Morgan who has been a steadfast fount of guidance since I first arrived to Columbus. As I explored every facet of the broad landscape that is the field of linguistics, Terrell did not fail to guide me to the most interesting questions before me. As an adviser, he opened the door to diverse opportunities throughout graduate school that have made me into the researcher and teacher that I am today. I have been told by some of Terrell’s former students that I remind them of him, and I cannot imagine a higher compliment. Since my first day in grad school, Scott Schwenter has been teaching me to be committed to data and to explore new methods for studying old problems. It is because of him that I became interested in pragmatics and variation analysis to begin with. His practice-based approach to teaching was essential in building my confidence as a linguist, and I owe to him much of the sense of self-efficacy that has enabled me to follow through with this dissertation. And of course, there’s Ashwini Deo, whose inspiring work and passion for semantics and pragmatics has proved foundational in the present work. It has truly been a joy to study with someone who can explain the most complicated of semantic concepts in an elegant and comprehensible way. She regularly encourages her students to find the beauty in semantic analyses that are well- constructed, and it my sincerest hope that there is even a glint of that elegance in the present work. Beyond the members of my committee, many professors have had a major influence on the way that I think about language and approach linguistic problems. While I cannot possibly describe iv all of these influences here, I want to mention a few key ‘contributors.’ First, Rebeka Campos- Astorkiza taught me to think like a scientist when studying language; it is because of her that I have a clear sense of the kinds of data that are required to answer different kinds of questions. Anna Babel taught me that language is fundamentally cultural and that it is only fully understood within the context of human lives. She and Michelle Wibbelsman instilled in me a sense of the value of fieldwork and taught me how to do it. This sensibility proved essential in the design of the present study. Finally, I want to thank John Grinstead, whose input on the experimental methodology of this project improved it significantly. And, of course, I thank the Tinker Foundation and the Center for Latin American studies for their generous support of a Field Research Grant to conduct preliminary fieldwork and data col- lection in Matanzas, Cuba. I also thank the Ohio State University Graduate School for the Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship, which enabled me to travel to Matanzas to collect the data that forms the empirical basis of this work. Next, I turn to my friends and colleagues in the Spanish and Portuguese graduate program. First, I want to recognize the individuals who contributed concretely to the creation of this dissertation. Kendra Dickinson provided extensive input on the variation analysis, lending her experience to both the statistical analysis and the presentation of data as well as providing encouragement and care in my moments of self-doubt. Next, Mark Hoff was a major support in helping me set up the experimental design, pointing me to the right literature and giving me practical advice. I am grateful that Will Balla-Johnson and I were both working on historical studies of Spanish at the same time, as I greatly benefited from our conversations and am indebted to Will’s depth of experience in historical analysis. Justin Pinta shared the wonder of LaTeX with me and has made me a believer; I am grateful for his assistance in helping me set up some of the technical pieces, saving me many hours of work here on the other side. And I would not have made it without the support of my dear friends Olivia Cosentino and Laura Fernandez. Writing a dissertation can be a lonely process, and having the opportunity to write “alongside” others who were going through the same thing kept me moving forward through the mountains and valleys. v There are so many others whose friendship, feedback, and presence made the past five years of graduate school the adventure that it has been. I hope not to understate how important they are by mentioning them in list form, but the depth of the warmth and gratitude that I have for them could fill volumes: Ashlee Dauphinais, Oihane Muxika-Loitzate, Paloma Pinillos Chavez,´ Ann Bryner, Justin Bland, Luana Lamberti Nunes, Paige Barton, Tata Wilson Kirk, Paola Enr´ıquez Duque, (mi tocayo) Santiago Gualapuro Gualapuro, Hugo Salgado Rodr´ıguez, Mark Kolat, Sarah Little, Devin Grammon, Meghan Dabkowski, Eleni Christodulelis, Ramon´ Padilla Reyes and Elena Jaime Jimenez.´ And these are just the linguists.

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