In:Insubordination
Edited by Nicholas Evans and Honoré Watanabe
[Typological Studies in Language 115] 2016
► pp. 89–112
Chapter 4. Independent si-clauses in Spanish
Functions and consequences for insubordination
Published online: 18 November 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.115.04sch
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.115.04sch
This chapter focuses on a particular use of subordinate-marked si ‘if’ clauses in Spanish as independent declaratives, which typically form the second part of a dialogic interaction with adversative speech act function. I provide both syntactic and prosodic evidence for the status of these constructions as insubordinated, and distinguish them from both full and elliptical conditional constructions in order to provide clear evidence of their status as free-standing declaratives. I also discuss the consequences of the (proposed) insubordination process for the creation of a new adversative connective si identical in form but very different in function from the conditional marker. The development of this adversative function has led to other uses of si that ultimately can be related back to the insubordination process. The more general theoretical question for discussion that is considered is this: What happens to the formal markers of adverbial subordination once they (begin to) appear in contexts where their main clauses are elided, i.e. in contexts of insubordination?
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