dc.contributor.advisor | Antonio, Fábregas | |
dc.contributor.author | Moreno, Arlanda | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-02-10T11:28:38Z | |
dc.date.available | 2015-02-10T11:28:38Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015-03-10 | |
dc.description.abstract | This thesis describes the uses of the non–periphrastic gerund in the Spanish of Mérida, Venezuela. A functional analysis of this form has been conducted. It explores mainly the semantics, pragmatics and sociolinguistics of this verbal form in two oral corpora.
I propose that its main interpretation is temporal. To demonstrate this assertion, I explore the Arktionsart of the gerunds and analyze the subevent structure that the gerund and the main verb form. I show that gerunds are mainly activities. Accomplishments, states and achievements tend to be interpreted as activities if they appear as gerunds.
Regarding to its pragmatics, I suggest that this form can introduce new and old information according to its position within the sentence. The results show that the gerund placed at the beginning of a sentence introduces old information interpreted as frames and gerunds placed at the end of a sentence introduce new information that can be interpreted as comments.
On the presumption that young and non-educated speakers would use more often the non-periphrastic gerund, the sociolinguistic analysis was carried out. The analysis enabled to show that the hypothesis was wrong. Non-educated speaker obtained lower results than the other groups. There are not significant differences related to age and there are few differences related to sex.
The main contributions of this thesis to the study of the non-periphrastic gerund are the following: a deep analysis of its Aktionsart and subevent structure as well as the study of its pragmatic functions. In addition, this thesis presents evidence of a semantic interpretation that has not been described before: especificativa and provides evidence of the use of this form in positions that usually are occupied by the infinitive. | en |
dc.description.doctoraltype | ph.d. | en |
dc.description.popularabstract | This thesis describes the uses of the non–periphrastic gerund in the Spanish of Mérida, Venezuela. A functional analysis of this form has been conducted. It explores mainly the semantics, pragmatics and sociolinguistics of this verbal form in two oral corpora from the mentioned city.
Grammarians in the first modern Spanish grammars condemned some uses of this form: the gerund as an adjective and the gerund with an interpretation of posteriority. These criticisms have continued until now and have produced many doubts in the use of this form.
I follow the classification that is proposed by RAE in its grammar. This classification establishes the division of the gerund in three types: internal, external and free gerunds.
In relation with the internal and external gerunds, under the assumption that the use of this form in general is motivated by communicative reasons, I show that the syntactic structure in which this form appears is motivated by semantic and pragmatic reasons. I argue that the main interpretation of the gerund is temporal. To demonstrate this assertion, I explore the Aktionsart of the gerunds found in the corpora and analyze the subevent structure that the gerund and the main verb form. I show that gerunds are mainly activities. Accomplishments, states and achievements tend to be interpreted as activities if they appear as gerunds.
Regarding to its pragmatic interpretation, I suggest that the gerund can introduce new and old information according to its position within the sentence. The results show that the gerund placed at the beginning of a sentence introduces old information that can be interpreted as a frame, by contrast gerunds placed at the end of a sentence introduce new information that can be interpreted as comments.
With respect to the free gerund, I propose that this gerund selects its own arguments, specially the subject. The reference of this subject and the information about time can be obtained from the context, both linguistic and non-linguistic. The results suggest that this assumption is correct. The analysis of its pragmatic functions shows that in some cases this gerund works in discourse as a discourse marker and also as an element that is a second part of an adjacency pair which means that the free gerund collaborates with the conversational turn-taking mechanism.
On the presumption that young and non-educated speakers would use more often the non-periphrastic gerund, the sociolinguistic analysis was carried out. The analysis enabled to show that the hypothesis was wrong. Non-educated speaker obtained lower results than the other groups. There are not significant differences related to age and there are few differences related to sex. In the combined population, there are not significant differences. But, there are considerable differences according to the type of gerund used. Women have a higher tendency to use free gerunds; by contrast men have a higher tendency to use external gerunds.
The main contributions of this thesis to the study of the non-periphrastic gerund are the following: a deep analysis of its Aktionsart and subevent structure as well as the study of its pragmatic functions. The demonstration that the adjectival use and the interpretation of posteriority are not common at least in the Spanish of Mérida, Venezuela. In addition, this thesis presents evidence of a semantic interpretation that has not been described before: especificativa and shows the use of this form in positions that usually are occupied by the infinitive. | en |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/7103 | |
dc.identifier.urn | URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_6695 | |
dc.language.iso | spa | en |
dc.publisher | UiT Norges arktiske universitet | en |
dc.publisher | UiT The Arctic University of Norway | en |
dc.rights.accessRights | openAccess | |
dc.rights.holder | Copyright 2015 The Author(s) | |
dc.subject.courseID | DOKTOR-001 | en |
dc.subject | VDP::Humaniora: 000::Språkvitenskapelige fag: 010 | en |
dc.subject | VDP::Humanities: 000::Linguistics: 010 | en |
dc.title | Gerundio no perifrástico. Estudio de corpus orales del español de Mérida, Venezuela | en |
dc.type | Doctoral thesis | en |
dc.type | Doktorgradsavhandling | en |