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Article published In: Journal of Historical Pragmatics
Vol. 17:1 (2016) ► pp.79–106

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Para colmo, scalar operator and additive connector

Keys to an evolving process

 | Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
Published online: 16 June 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jhp.17.1.04rod
This study addresses the development undergone by para colmo, a form which is in the process of becoming fixed as an argumentative operator and additive connector. Para colmo has undergone a process of subjectification (Traugott 1995a), which is crucial in the development of discourse markers, where the presence of the speaker is manifested in various ways to cover important areas of meaning in the interpretation of the discourse. It has polarized its meaning in the negative and has progressed to indicate scalar saturation, or a position at the highest level of the argumentative scale, with an evaluation of excess on the part of the speaker. The study has been carried out on the basis of both diachronic and synchronic corpora compiled by the Real Academia Española, and covers the period from 1200 to 2004.
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