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In:Semantic-Pragmatic Change from Intersubjective to Textual Meanings
Edited by Giulio Scivoletto and Ryo Takamura
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 353] 2025
► pp. 190–220

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Chapter 7
From vocative contexts to digressive uses

On Spanish ah

Published online: 27 June 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.353.07par
Abstract
In present-day Spanish, discourse marker ah (roughly equivalent to English oh) presents primarily a modal meaning, appearing also in digressive contexts that introduce new information. In this study, I exemplify how ah derived from a vocative interjection into a modal marker and, finally, into a digressive marker. To this effect, I explore a sample of ah in Peninsular Spanish from the 16th to the 20th centuries, obtained from the Royal Spanish Academy’s Historical Corpus — CORDE. Focusing on the structural changes in its discourse units and position, I describe the three meaning stages of ah, which reveal a path from intersubjective uses to textual meanings.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework and methodology
    • 2.1Theoretical framework
    • 2.2Units and positions
    • 2.3Methodology
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1Intersubjective period (16th-18th centuries): From vocative contexts to modal uses
    • 3.2Second period: From intersubjective to textual uses (19th-20th centuries)
  • 4.Discussion: Different functions, different scopes
    • 4.1From the default initial position of ah to the modal freedom
    • 4.2Back to the beginning as a textual clue
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (44)
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