In:Argument Structure in Flux: The Naples-Capri Papers
Edited by Elly van Gelderen, Jóhanna Barðdal and Michela Cennamo
[Studies in Language Companion Series 131] 2013
► pp. 435–458
Tornar and volver
The interplay of frequency and semantics in compound tense auxiliary selection in Medieval and Classical Spanish
Published online: 25 June 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.131.16ros
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.131.16ros
This paper examines how the interplay of frequency and semantics may have influenced the directionality of the change of the compound tense auxiliary system in Spanish, taking the near-synonymous verbs tornar and volver (‘to return’) in the 16th century as examples. There is a significant contrast in the auxiliary selection of the two verbs that can be explained by taking into account the differences in semantic usage of the two verbs, as well as frequency effects. On the one hand, the higher degree of motional usage of volver leads to the more frequent selection of ser. On the other hand, the higher usage frequency of volver led to a conservation of the usage of the ser-auxiliary with this verb. In consequence, the chapter argues for a joint influence of semantic usage and frequency effects on the development of auxiliary selection in Spanish.
Cited by (6)
Cited by six other publications
Wiesinger, Evelyn
2023. On the role of verb-particle constructions in Old Spanish. In Constructions in Spanish [Constructional Approaches to Language, 34], ► pp. 309 ff.
Garachana Camarero, Mar & Axel Hernández Díaz
2020. From semantics to grammar. In Changes in meaning and function [IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature, 25], ► pp. 77 ff.
Velde, Freek Van de & Alek Keersmaekers
2020. What are the determinants of survival curves of words?. Evolutionary Linguistic Theory 2:2 ► pp. 127 ff.
Garachana, Mar
Garachana Camarero, Mar
[no author supplied]
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