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Abstract This paper introduces the melodic characterisation of spontaneous Spanish presented by speakers from two regions in the north of Spain: Asturias and Navarre, based on a conversational corpus composed of 100 utterances emitted by 62 participants. It focuses on the intonation of the dialects, an aspect which is poorly investigated but highly relevant for characterising and distinguishing one from the other. The study is based on the Melodic Analysis of Speech method, a meticulous acoustic analysis through which exact values are obtained from spontaneous speech, which can then be compared. In short, the most notable coincident and divergent melodic features between the two dialects are: (1) the tendency of the two to present a first peak, more frequently tonic in Asturian Spanish and atonic in Navarrese; (2) an almost flat or slightly falling body of the contour with abundant internal inflections, which are also distinguished by the syllable where the rise ends: tonic in Asturian Spanish, and tonic and atonic in the final position of the word in Navarrese; and (3) more pronounced final inflections, with five different endings, and tonal fields, in the region of Navarre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents a semantic analysis for Spanish ya , translated roughly into English as already. Ya has been treated in the literature in a diversity of ways: mostly as an adverb of time, but also as an aspectual marker, as a presuppositional adverb, as a focus marker, as a modal adverb, as an epistemic operator and as a conceptual anchor (Bosque, 1980; Löbner, 1989, 1999; Girón Alconchel, 1991; Garrido, 1993; García Fernández, 1999; Fernández and De Miguel, 1999; Pavón Lucero, 1999 ; Delbecque and Maldonado, 2009). We propose that the semantic content of this lexical item is better explained in procedural terms. We suggest that ya encodes in its semantics two semantic procedures: an instruction to incorporate in the interpretation an assumption about the transition from a previous state of affairs ([+DYNAMICITY]), and an instruction to incorporate in the context of interpretation a mutually manifest assumption about the previous continuity ([+DURATIVITY]) of that state of affairs. We will show how this semantic content operates along different cognitive domains to produce the wide variety of uses and pragmatic effects displayed by ya. Our results show the advantages of considering that semantic features such as dynamicity and durativity can be encoded in linguistic items either conceptually or procedurally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the Spanish marker ‘se’ and its functions, the conclusions suggest that aside from its function as a reflexive pronoun it is a pragmatic marker not following a homogeneous structure ( Azpiazu Torres, 2005; Aarón and Torres Cacoullos, 2006 ; Maldonado, 1999 ). We propose that additional information on the function of ‘se’ is provided by the hand gestures co-occurring with ‘se’. This paper adds to the existing body of knowledge by taking a multimodal approach to investigate the uses of ‘se’ by two groups of speakers, one Spanish and one Mexican, by adding gestures to the linguistic analysis. Our results confirmed the various functions highlighted by linguistic analysis and point to the importance of including the gesture when interpreting the various meanings of ‘se’. In particular we observed that in verbs like ‘comer’ or ‘tragar’ (to eat, to swallow), ‘se + ingest’ is the preferred form, the gesture marking the subject, not the object. This is significant as studies of ‘se’ indicate that its use is to provide a telic aspect to the action indicating the whole object has been ingested ( Sánchez López, 2002 ), yet the gesture highlights the subject. With intransitive verbs, the gesture stresses or adds information related to the path or manner of the action, suggesting that one of its main function is to energize the action, as suggested by Maldonado (1999) . Our results indicated that Mexicans are more likely to use the marker ‘se’ but there were no differences in terms of functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we offer a panoramic overview of the development of Andean Spanish and Andean Linguistics, from a theoretical point of view of language contact and universal grammar. We discuss how the notion of Andean Spanish came into existence, the issues under debate, and the consequences of different theoretical positions. We also introduce the contents of the papers included in this special issue, and highlight their key points, framing them in the context of the research on universal grammar. The following five areas are covered: (1) the convergence of Quechua and Aymara, (2) the impact of bilingualism on intonation, (3) the sharing of suffixes in contact situations, (4) the modification of the present perfect tense in Spanish in contact with Quechua, and (5) the properties of the Quechua case system from the point of view of contact varieties. Finally, we provide some remarks on bilingual education, and some suggestions for further directions for future research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the nominal system of Catalan and Spanish, two Romance languages that have both a morphologically binary number distinction and a determiner system, but which still allow bare singular count nominals (BNs) in internal argument position. In particular, this paper investigates the structure and meaning of these nominal expressions. It shows that BNs in object position are not singular, and do not denote individual entities, either object-level individuals or kinds. Instead, they denote properties of kinds. This denotation conveys a number-neutral (NN) interpretation that is compatible with atomicity as well as non-atomicity entailments, a reading that can lead to either an enriched singularity or a plurality interpretation in appropriate contexts. The paper also highlights the differences between BNs and bare plurals, and between BNs and mass nouns. From a lexical perspective BNs have neither cumulativity nor divisivity of reference, but involve atomic domains. A Number projection is conceived as a realization function (from properties of kinds to either object individuals or sum entities). A definite Determiner is interpreted as the iota-operator, which can apply directly to a Noun and instantiate a kind-denoting expression; if it applies to a Number projection, it selects the unique satisfier or maximal object that has the property denoted by the nominal expression. An operation of quantification excludes a NN interpretation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines three sources of knowledge in the acquisition of English articles by second language (L2) learners: L1-transfer, L2-input and Universal Grammar (UG). The paper examines patterns of English article (mis)use among L2-English learners whose L1 either has articles (Spanish) or lacks articles (Russian). It is shown that L1-Spanish learners of English transfer the semantics of Spanish articles onto English, and thus correctly categorize English articles on the basis of definiteness. In contrast, L1-Russian learners of English exhibit fluctuation between the concepts of definiteness and specificity, consistent with earlier findings by . It is shown that the L2-learners’ performance cannot be a result of domain-general statistical learning: despite a large hypothesis space for what English articles might mean, learners of English entertain only those hypotheses that involve semantic universals. It is argued that while L1-Spanish speakers rely on transfer, L1-Russian speakers, in the absence of transfer, have direct access to semantic universals, and fluctuate between them. The learners’ difficulty in choosing the appropriate semantic universal for English (definiteness) is argued to stem from problems generalizing from input triggers. Thus, all three factors – L1-transfer, access to semantic universals through UG, and input triggers – are shown to be relevant for the acquisition of English articles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Spanish, several constituents have their unmarked position after the sentence's main verb (direct objects, locative adjuncts, depictives, etc.). The linearity of linguistic expressions implies that if two such postverbal constituents appear in a given sentence they must be ordered in a certain way. The present paper examines information focus and syntactic weight as possible factors in postverbal constituent order. Based on data from two experimental studies it will be shown that (i) these factors indeed play a role in postverbal constituent order in Spanish and that (ii) postverbal constituent order is characterized at the same time by optionality and preferences (e.g., although a direct object (dO) and a depictive (DEP) can be ordered as DEP-dO or dO-DEP, the order dO-DEP is clearly preferred over DEP-dO). To account for the optionality and preferences, the data will be modeled in a (simplified) Stochastic Optimality Theory grammar without assuming a basic constituent order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the long-standing assumption that (External or Internal) Merge is a necessary condition for theta-role assignment is challenged. It is argued, then, that a theory of thematic assignment which allows for long-distance theta-role assignment under conditions of locality and activity is empirically preferable when it comes to some complex interactions between se and causative constructions in Buenos Aires Spanish. It is also shown that recent arguments against long-distance theta-role assignment do not hold in a theory as the one defended here, which conceives of theta-roles as regulated by conditions generally available in the realm of A-dependencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The paper offers a unified account of the meaning of the Spanish subjunctive mood. [•] It covers a greater array of grammatical contexts than offered by previous studies. [•] Focus is on the conceptual relation between the main clause and mood choice. [•] The notion of dominion is a main tool for interpreting the subjunctive mood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we offer a syntactic description of Spanish exceptive constructions headed by excepto, salvo or menos (‘except’). Framing our hypothesis in an adjunction analysis of coordination, we argue that these exceptive markers head a Boolean Phrase, like other coordinating conjunctions. Two types of exceptive phrases can be identified, depending on the level of the constituents conjoined. In connected exceptives two DPs are conjoined. In free exceptives two CPs are conjoined; the exceptive markers select for a full-fledged CP as complement, whose null head (C) triggers a process of ellipsis in which all the syntactic material inside TP is marked for PF-deletion, except the remnant constituent(s). Our proposal supports a structural approach to ellipsis whereby elliptical constituents are in fact fully fledged though non-pronounced syntactic structures. It also supports the hypothesis that the differences in the syntactic behaviour of coordinate sentences and subordinate adverbial clauses cannot be derived from their phrase structure geometry but are instead due to the properties of individual conjunctions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper I discuss cases where there has been systematic borrowing of affixes: Spanish elements in different Quechua languages. I will try to study, in this specific case, the different processes through which suffixes have entered the language. I argue that there are four dimensions, four paths through which a Spanish suffix can be incorporated into Quechua: second language (L2)-oriented processes, universally oriented processes, first language (L1)-oriented processes, and processes in which properties of both L1 and L2 play a role. Thus the process of borrowing morphology is far from uniform. Rather, it reflects the complexity of all language contact processes, in which the four dimensions listed play a role. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, I analyze null subjects in absolute clauses (AC) in Spanish, comparing them to finite-clause null subjects and infinitival subjects. AC null subjects mostly pattern like finite-clause null subjects, but they cannot be identified by a rich inflection and they require a grammatically encoded antecedent (like some infinitival subjects). I propose that AC null subjects must be identified by a topic operator through the operation of AGREE, a matching operation between two categories in which one of them copies its values to the other. AC null subjects remain unvalued in their own clause, seeking an antecedent in the preceding clause through a mediating null topic in the absolute clause’s periphery. Finite-clause null subjects, on the other hand, are identified within their own clause by verbal morphology through the same AGREE mechanism. Two distinct ways of relating null subjects to discourse-antecedents are proposed, one for finite-clause subjects, one for absolute-clause subjects. By proposing a distinct discourse-identification process not mediated by rich agreement, this proposal opens the door to a unified theory of null referential categories, in which discourse-topic identification plays a central role. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the behaviour of VP topicalization in two unrelated languages, Hungarian and Spanish. It will show that in spite of the superficial similarity between the elements involved in such topicalization, the two languages employ a fundamentally different strategy in the derivation of these sentences. Hungarian fronts the VP material and spells it out in the form of a resumptive pronoun in the left periphery, in a mechanism similar to that described in Grohmann (2003). Spanish on the other hand generates the resumptive pronominal as an argument internal to the clause. This difference in the two derivations correlates with other differences in VP topicalization in the two languages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although at the lexical level (in the citation form of words) Spanish has only high glides, mid vowels may also become nonsyllabic by a postlexical process of syllable contraction. In this paper we report on an experiment designed to study the contraction of sequences of nonhigh vowels in Castilian Spanish. Traditional phonological descriptions of this Spanish dialect state that in sequences of equal height such as /eo/, /oe/, the first of the two vowels undergoes greater shortening, becoming nonsyllabic. In sequences of different height, such as /ae/, /ea/, on the other hand, the higher of the two vowels becomes nonsyllabic. Our results offer only partial support for these hypotheses. In agreement with other recent studies, we find the realization of these sequences to be very variable. In particular, we discuss two seemingly opposite tendencies present in our data and elsewhere for the elimination of mid glides. One is their deletion: /ea/ ▪ [▪a] ▪ [a]. The other one is their raising to high glides: /ea/ ▪ [▪a] ▪ [ja]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper develops a generative analysis for a particular language contact phenomenon familiar in the variationist and language contact literature, namely indirect transfer [F. Klein, A quantitative study of syntactic and pragmatic indications of change in the Spanish of bilinguals in the U.S, in: W. Labov (Ed.), Locating Language in Time and Space, Academic Press, New York, 1980, p. 69; R. Mougeon, E. Beniak, Linguistic Consequences of Language Contact and Restriction: The Case of French in Ontario, OUP, Oxford, 1991; C. Silva-Corvalán, Language Contact and Change: Spanish in Los Angeles, OUP, Oxford, 1994]. This language contact effect, which is preferential rather than categorical, is difficult to deal with in traditional generative approaches, and has received no attention in this literature. My analysis focuses on Klein's study of synthetic/analytic verb forms used for the expression of progressive aspect in Spanish, where contact with English causes a skewing in the distribution of use of analytic forms in a bilingual variety compared to a similar monolingual variety. The analysis is carried out in a stochastic OT [P. Boersma, B. Hayes, Empirical tests of the Gradual Learning Algorithm. Linguistic Inquiry 32 (1) (2001) 45–86] framework, where I show that the indirect transfer effects observed by Klein can be captured by way of different ranking of a small set of OT constraints on a linear ranking scale. In addition to providing a model for the indirect transfer effects in Klein's study, my analysis also makes a typological prediction regarding morphosyntactic expression and Imperfective and Progressive verb forms: no language can have a synthetic Progressive and an analytic Imperfective. This prediction is supported by the absence of any such distribution in the surveys of Bybee et al. [The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1994] or Dahl [Tense and Aspect Systems, Blackwell, Oxford, 1985]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]