El fraseologismo por momentos: principales valores semánticos y algunos apuntes diatópicos.

In this paper we make an inductive corpus-based analysis of the Spanish idiom por momentos. The aim of the analysis is (1) to study the most common meaning of por momentos in Spain and in Río de la Plata, and (2) to describe the contextual elements and the verbal collocates with the two most common meanings of the idiom. The ultimate aim of our study is to draw attention to the coexistence of two fundamental meanings of por momentos: one of them is a temporal and distributive meaning ('sometimes, in short periods of time') and the other is a modal meaning ('more and more, visibly, quickly'). The former is characteristic of Spanish in Río de la Plata while the latter is the most frequent in Spain. With the two meanings there is a clear tendency to use the idiom in the context of intensification; moreover, the second has evidential connotation. This connotation is emphasized by numerous contextual elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]