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Discursive correction and rectification procedures imply a return to a previous discourse to reformulate it in a different manner. The issues covered in this paper are: to establish if these operations are in fact a part of reformulation processes, as in many cases their aim is to correct the form of a word or to seek the most precise expression for a concept, or to replace a discursive element with a more appropriate one; to analyze if the discourse relationships between the linked elements constitute a reinterpretation of the preceding segment; and finally, to determine if there exists a sequence of specific linguistic mechanisms in modern Spanish, including a set of discursive markers, that allow the implementation of these operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that lexical blending causes shortening is often taken as evidence that this morphological process is subtractive. This paper argues that the classification of lexical blending within subtractive morphology is accurate for syntagmatic blends, but inaccurate for associative blends because, while the shortening of the former is the product of deletion, that of the latter is the result of extensive overlapping. Through the use of faithful and unfaithful multiple-correspondence relationships, it is demonstrated that associative blending consists of superimposing one word upon another one. Although the output word is shorter than the sum of the input words, no part of the input is left completely unrepresented in the output. Associative blends prioritize the prosodic structure of the head, but compensate the non-head by prioritizing its segmental structure. In this way, they manage to balance the faithfulness they owe to both of their etymons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of the Panhispanical Project of Lexical Availability in Spanish, directed by the professor Humberto López Morales. This fact has been determinant to delimitate the methodological bases and the criteria of edition. Only few projects in the field of Hispanic linguistics have a common basis so ambitious that make possible the establishment of successful comparitions between different sintopies. In the present article we are focused in the nomina of foreign words consigned in the available lexicon of pre-universitary students from Seville. We part from the results obtained from four hundred informants and we describe the differences found after the analisys of four variables: 'sex', 'tipe of school', 'sociocultural level' and 'geographical area'. Finally, we compare the Anglicisms provided by the eight provinces of the Autonomous Comunity of Andalusia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critical review of the so-called Verbal Government Complement (VGC), arguing, with Demonte, that two types of VGCs must be distinguished: the insist type, and the consist type. An analysis will be proposed according to which the former is formed by a small clause selected by a light verb (which explains their obligatory presence, e.g., The exam consists *(offive questions)), the latter being a variety of adjunct (in particular, a "lexical adjunct", in Mateu's sense, which will explain the possibility to suppress them: The witness insisted (that he is innocent)). Besides providing additional evidence to differentiate two types of VGCs, the analysis has the more general goal of discussing the traditional distinction between arguments (participants obligatorily selected) and adjuncts (or circumstantial complements). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with syntactic, semantic-denotative and terminological criteria used in attempt to characterize and classify several types of Spanish nominal combinations. We are going to revisite such criteria in order to propose some guidelines on delimiting free syntax constructions from phraseological ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the semantic and syntactic properties of the Spanish lexical markers of difference distinto/diferente 'different' and diverso 'diverse'. It analizes, in particular, their behaviour as adjectives and determiners with respect to the selection of an overt item of comparison, the expression of either non-identity or qualitative differences between the entities being compared, and the (anaphoric, NP-internal and sentence-internal) readings they may have depending on how the things to be compared are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the speech act of wishing in two languages genetically related: Spanish and Romanian. Wishing, as well as verbally reacting to a wish in a culturally appropriate way, constitute instances of what is know in the literature as ritual politeness, which typically uses more or less standardized politeness formulas that are socially called for in specific circumstances. Wishes are polite speech acts (i.e., Face-Flattering Acts) that enhance the affiliation links among community members. The data for this study were collected through questionnaires and, when appropriate, correlated with examples from literary dialogues and/or genuine oral interactions. They were divided and analyzed in two main categories: situations in which the use of a wish is required (or strongly favored) in both languages, and situations in which a wish is required (or strongly favored) only in one of the two languages under consideration (in this specific case, Romanian). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to study the syntactic function and the pragmatic relevance in the use of the verb ser in Colombian Spanish as in Salí fue a correr; Les gusta estar es en la calle. We will use the data from El español hablado en Bogotá. Relatos semilibres de informantes pertenecientes a tres estratos sociales, by José Joaquín Montes Giraldo (1997), and a corpus created with the texts of Casa de Nariño, published by the Presidencia de la República de Colombia. Following Mercedes Sedano's precedent works for the phenomenon in Caracas, we will insist in the idea that these constructions are focal structures and they serve to communicate emphasis. We will resume the precedent research about the phenomenon, we will present our new data for the Spanish in Colombia, and we will study the emphatic mechanisms linked to the pragmatic motivation to create these syntactic constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to enumerate some of the most relevant, innovative and striking aspects founded in the New Grammar of the Spanish Language (NGRALE, for its acronym in Spanish), and it also can be used like a sort of reading guide. Besides, in some cases, several examples are included in order to facilitate the comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a contrastive study about the verbal mood (indicative and subjunctive) in the relative clauses in Spanish and Italian languages, specifically in the restrictive relative clauses introduced by que/che or /. At first it is necessary to remember some fundamental concepts that can help to understand the dynamic of the selection of the mood in those relative clauses such as the distinction between definite/undefinite and specific/non-specific antecedent. The aim of this work is to analyze, supported by examples, two of the factors that affect the verbal mood in the relative subordinates: (i) intensional verbs in the main clause (ii) future and imperative verbs in the main clause. The contrast between Italian and Spanish relative clauses will allow to determine the most relevant divergences. The results will be applicable in the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language and in the field of translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the distributional restrictions of elatives in negative contexts. First, I will show that elatives can appear in a negative sentence if they are not within the scope of negation. Second, I will study the behaviour of these modifiers in other negative environments. In order to describe the distribution of elatives, I will adopt the characterisation of negative environments put forward by Ladusaw (1979) and van der Wouden (1997), among others, who distinguish between downward entailing contexts, anti additive contexts and antimorphic contexts. I will show that elatives do not have a uniform behaviour as regards their distribution in negative environments. In this sense, it is possible to distinguish three classes of extreme degree modifiers. The first class cannot appear in downward entailing contexts; the second class is sensitive to the focus of negation; and the third class is compatible with all the negative environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies three 'denominal' verbs which has been classified as 'agentive': protagonizar, fiscalizar and tiranizar. The paper examines the relationship between the nominal bases and the meaning of these verbs. It also analyses some of their syntactic and semantic properties: the semantic role of their arguments, their participation in diathesis alternations, some of their aspectual characteristics. The analysis allows to conclude that fiscalizar and tiranizar are 'activity' verbs with a 'similative' meaning, but protagonizar differs from them in many ways. This verb does not seem to be specified with respect to 'agency' or 'activity', and the (sub)lexical, encyclopedic or 'frame' properties of its complements are clearly relevant for the semantic composition of the sentence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of youth language has grown during the last decades, and covers quite a few of the particular features and ways of communicating that characterize young people. Contrastive studies in this area, however, are few and far between, no doubt due to the lack of corpora. In this paper, which is based on two corpora of youth language, COLT and COLAm, we compare some aspects of the use of the pragmatic markers like and como by adolescents in London and Madrid. Like and como are used for the same functions, although like is used twice as frequently as como. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the whole range of devices to express Verum Focus (or polarity focus) in Spanish is analysed. After having introduced the basic concepts needed for the analysis (Verum Focus, its syntactic manifestations and its semantic interpretation), the various constructions expressing Verum Focus, the conditions governing the way they fit into the context and their contribution to the interpretation of the discourse in which they occur are considered in detail. The asymmetries that arise are explained as the result of some structural differences. A principled account of the notion of "emphasis" is offered in terms of Verum Focus. The proposal is illustrated with examples from various corpora of contemporary Spanish. From a more general point of view, it is shown that current theoretical models can successfully account for the distribution and nuances of colloquial discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze Exonymy in Toponymy within the framework of the current Spanish language, i.e. the existence of place names that have been phonetically and graphically adapted into Spanish from their own forms in different languages, including other languages of Spain (Rumania, Pekín, Orense, Gerona…). Although there is a significant trend that seeks to limit the use of exonyms or exotoponyms, when they are traditional forms in language, they prove to be another of its components, and one that should not necessarily be eradicated. The study focuses on the use of exotoponyms in the media, from the rules in their respective Stylebooks. This is a good way to approach the reality of language, at least with regards to this aspect, since the discrepancies observed in them reflect, in many cases, the confusion that now surrounds this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the idea that the language used in today's financial press belongs to the speciality language field of Business Spanish, this paper provides a description and systematisation of the lexis used by financial journalists. For this purpose, having analysed a body of texts taken from contemporary financial newspapers, the lexis used is described on the basis of certain theoretical assumptions regarding the origin, security and functionality of this lexis. This analysis points to the conclusion that the lexis used can be divided into two groups: denoted, made up of monosemic lexical units, and connoted, lexical units with a specific meaning in the context of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper it will be pointed out that the infinitive constructions with perception and causative verbs in Spanish are double object sentences in which each object has a different degree of transitive prototypicity. Functionally, they are to some extent unstable structures which have to hold balance between three different forces: subject, object and infinitive, with a different way of interaction depending on the eventive structure of the sentence and the verb type. After studying separately perception and causative verbs, a tentative explanation of both verb types in terms of diathesis will be offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper lies in the category of research on sports terminology as a language for specific purposes. Hence, it is a study with a lexicological and lexicographical perspective, concerning the Spanish language and bilingual dictionaries. On this occasion, I will deal with meanings and sports terms in Laura Tam's Grande Dizionario di Spagnolo, distinguishing between terms of a specific nature, entries of a generic nature in the milieu of sports and, finally, non-descript terms. The study concludes with a comparison of terms in the Spanish-Italian section and those in the Italian- Spanish section, with an analysis of the differences. A selection of some of the most representative terms will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Spanish language, the "proportional correlation" is expressed by different syntactic forms depending on the type of discourse, the geographic areas, etc. This paper deals with the semantic-linguistic differences --in many cases, very large-- between these particular forms and the varied senses which they acquire in the speech uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the impact that a standardized form of Spanish in current media may have on the Spanish-speaking people, especially in linguistic-contact situations in which media may be a crucial factor for both the growth and strength of a language, so that choosing a linguistic standard rather than another may become a major issue. It is concluded that a global, non-local Spanish standard, reflecting the current extension of the language, may serve both as a formal standard and as a learning device for bilingual speakers who lack total command of the language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the Spanish verb tener 'to have' when used in a collocation co-occurring with an emotion noun (tener miedo 'to be afraid'). From the semantic viewpoint, tener is a quasi-empty verb; from the syntactic one, it is construed with two diathesis: one with three syntactic actants (Todos le tenían respeto 'Everyone had respect towards him/her'), the other, with only two (Tuve una profunda emoción 'I felt a deep emotion'). Most of the emotion nouns go either with the former or with the latter diathesis, and only a small group combines with both of them (La gente tiene miedo a la Policía/La gente tiene miedo (de la Policía) 'People are afraid of the Police'). The objective will be to find evidence of tener as an aspectual marker through the use of this double diathesis. The results will be applied in the elaboration of lexical entries for collocates in the Diccionario de colocaciones del español. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the analysis of a group of headlines appearing in pieces of news belonging to the sections of national and international politics, and published -between May 25th and June 11th, 2006- in the e-editions of several Spanish newspapers, as well as in e-editions of newspapers from some American countries (Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, México, Perú, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the United States). This article is part of the research project "Norma, discurso y español 'panhispánico' en los medios de comunicación", directed by Ph. D. Ana Ma. Vigara Tauste (UCM), with reference HUM-200500956/FILO (Plan Nacional de I + D + I). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is fourfold: (1) to point out the existence of two types of atypical verb+noun collocations in Spanish, that are the concealing collocations and the metaphorical collocations; (2) to describe their main semantic characteristics; (3) to analyze two semantic processes in the selection of the collocator in these collocations; and (4) to study the distinction between metaphorical collocations and verbal idioms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish concessive clauses usually are constructed with the indicative when they refer to facts and with the subjunctive when they apply to hypothetical or future objections. However, the prototypical marker of counterarguments, "aunque," often appears with the subjunctive in merely factual contexts, like in the statement "No soy nacionalista, aunque sea vasco", pronounced by a Basque politician. The traditional explanations of this phenomenon are based upon factors like information structure (the subjunctive is supposed to convey more topical and less relevant information) or the speaker's attitude (the subjunctive is thought to reflect a more polemic and less cooperative behaviour). The aim of this paper, inspired by textual linguistics, is to connect the "aunque"-subjunctive in factual contexts with the underlying textual sequence. Numerous examples obtained from the Real Academia corpus show that the "aunque"-subjunctive plays an important part in polite argumentation and can be considered as a case of what I would like to call "argumentative subjunctive". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interjections in Spanish such as ojo, cuidado, anda, mira, oye, etc., are phrases or categories that have lost their morphological features and original meaning. These interjections can be accompanied by a complement introduced by the conjunction "que" ("that") that has an evidential meaning. This hypothesis means that the sequence denotes an evidential value related to the type and source of the information. In this paper, I will analyze the contexts in which we can find interjections with complements in order to demonstrate that the interjections I will study are elements with evidential meaning: This is the reason why interjections can denote the speaker's point of view. I will also suggest that interjections, when co-appearing with the conjunction "que" ("that"), can refer to a previous context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to test the adequacy of the politeness approach for the study of variation in morphosyntactic structure. Synchronically, variation may be seen as the possibility of choice among different alternatives to code the same descriptive meaning; the existence and diachronic maintenance of such alternatives is often justified by the fact that they can convey subtle differences in other levels of meaning -particularly the discursive and cognitive ones. We will propose that such meaningful potential of grammatical variants can be exploited (in conjunction with many other linguistic features) as an interactional resource for the management of personal faces and interpersonal relationships. This hypothesis will be tested on three variables pertaining to the paradigm of Spanish verbal clitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes, in the frame of the Metrical and Autosegmental Phonology, the prosodic descriptions of some discourse markers that presents tonematics structures that would allow us (if it was the case) to differentiate them of morphophonologically identical forms with different function in the text. We study acoustically the Spanish discourse markers o sea, este, pues ¿no?, claro, ahora, bueno and pero. The conclusions of the study seems to show that the analyzed discourse markers present an own prosodic configuration that could work as approach for their description and categorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spanish linguistic identity is very solid, but native speakers do not always demonstrate uniformity in their way of denominating the language, "Spanish or Castilian?" Some show synonymy, generally preferring one of the two terms; others opt for the more modern and international term: Spanish. Through the preference of the term "Castilian" we can track the inheritance and influence of 19th century educational politics or a range of circumstantial sociopolitical attitudes which are far removed from the language. In environments in which non-native, second or foreign languages are taught, the language is unanimously denominated ,Spanish; however; above all there exist doubts among non-native teachers and in non-Hispanic countries as to what name should be used to refer to the language. This uncertainty is a reflection of the long-standing controversy abetted by the fact that the very maturity of the Spanish nation as a modern state occurred after its power and language had spread extensively; the terms for the language are therefore consequently controversial as well. This paper studies the constitutions of Hispanic countries in respect to whether or not a name is recognized for their official language (with special attention being given to the Spanish Constitution due to its complexity), and they are contrasted with a study of occurrences of the terms Spanish and Castilian in the Spanish Diachronic corpus (CORDE) and the Present corpus (CREA) of RAE, for all Hispanic countries. Additionally, results of the agreements between the worldwide Academies of the Spanish Language are presented as they are reflected in the definitions in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (the most updated, electronic version) and the Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the use of the expression hasta las trancas --originally hasta las trencas-- which is widely used in modern colloquial Spanish in Europe and to a lesser extent in Mexico, but not included in the DRAE nor in most other dictionaries. A corpus of examples has been collected based on questionnaires and sampling in the provinces of Almería, Granada and Málaga, in Internet discussion forums, the daily press and periodicals and literary texts. In the study the different meanings of this expression are listed, and the different uses of each semantic value are tabled (e.g. predicative and attributive verb combinations, and noun and adjective modifications). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is intended to verify the nature of dialectal variations found in the spoken Spanish present in three geographical areas of the Araucania region, along side with the degree of the mapudungun influence considered the native language in contact. It is also intended to recognize both the most frequently used speech markers present in the oral level shown by local residents as well as its functions seen in superior levels of the sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on conversation analysis and sociopragmatics, this paper examines the procedures employed by speakers of Ecuadorian Spanish, corresponding to one particular social group, to open 'personal' telephone conversations. These procedures are analyzed against the canonical model that has been described for North American English (Schegloff, 1986), and for which claims of universality have been made. Deviations from the canon are highlighted. It is proposed that some of these deviations constitute instances of situational variation and that others can possibly be regarded as examples of cultural variation. The need for more studies on telephone conversations in different contexts in Ecuadorian and other varieties of Spanish (and other languages) to facilitate cross-cultural comparisons is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we provide a synchronic and diachronic analysis of an instance of so-called «xpletive» negation in the Spanish approximative adverb por poco. Synchronically, we show that this adverb, when combined with the sentence negator no, is ambiguous between ∼p («expletive») and ∼∼p («canonical») meanings. Diachronically, we show that this ambiguity arose due to a change in the negation system of Spanish around the 15th century. As a result, the supposed instances of «expletive» negation found in present-day uses of por poco are not really expletive at all, but rather are a holdover from the Old Spanish requirement of preverbal negative concord. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal distance and modality have been proposed as core meanings of the indicative (simple and periphrastic) future tense forms in Spanish. In general, the research carried out on the topic has prioritized the first meaning over the second. This paper claims that it is the semantic feature of modality that organizes the contrast between those forms. It also argues that temporal distance simply emerges as an epiphenomenon or byproduct of the main semantic value. These statements are supported by evidence based on oral speech samples of 65 Cuban American living in Miami, Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on educational programs and activities designed to encourage second language acquisition and development in British secondary schools, particularly noting the use of paper plates in Spanish education and the development of the Routes into Languages East Language Leader Award.

The author relates the use of the concept behind visual humor on Tony de Carlo's Day of the Dead paintings in teaching eighth-grade students. Her students are studying Spanish as their foreign language elective and are familiar with the customs surrounding Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. Oil pastels on either black of white paper were used by students for their own Day of the Dead works. Some of them depicted their own ancestors, pets and famous people.

Deals with the lawsuit filed by the Hispanic Newspaper Network, an organization of Hispanic newspapers, against several advertising agencies in the United States over placement of federally-sponsored advertisements in Spanish language media. Agencies named in the lawsuit; Amount received by the papers from agencies' spending on government advertisements in 1999.

Reports on the conflicts involving two universities in Spain over the use of language. Suspension of a lecturer at Rovira i Virgili University for handing out exam papers in Spanish instead of Catalan; Dispute of the University of Valencia with education authorities over the Valencian language.