Chilean speakers’ preferences for referring to parents: mi vs. el/la vs. null
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0264-5238
Document Type
Paper Presentation
Presenter Language
English
Research Area
Pragmatics
Location
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
Start Date
17-10-2024 12:30 PM
End Date
17-10-2024 1:00 PM
Abstract
In Spanish, it is common to use unstressed possessive determiners in the prenominal position to refer to ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ in a conversation between members of the same family (1.a), and in some regions it is common the use of ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ as vocatives for the same purpose (1.b). In Chile, including the other uses, the use of definite articles is also a way of referring to parents (1.c). Consider the following examples:
(1) Context: A conversation between siblings about their parents.
(1.a)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a mi mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el de mi papá.
(1.b)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el de papá.
(1.c)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a la mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el del papá.
This work aims to explain these three different uses in Chilean Spanish focusing on the effects of the speaker’s choices, and to analyze the different implicatures that arise when speakers prefer to use one form rather than another.
The research questions are: what are the preferences of Chilean speakers for referring to parents in the context of a family? Is there any correlation between those preferences and sociolinguistic variables? Are those preferences motivated by pragmatic intuitions?
In order to answer these questions, and since these preferences may vary depending on contexts and participants, this study includes a preliminary analysis of the results of a perception survey (in-progress) applied to Chilean native speakers. The hypothesis is that, although speakers have different preferences of usage, there is a common perception of what choice is perceived more formal in the dialect.
The results of the analysis of the different usages show that some utterances have an expressive component involved, and when definite articles are used, and there is a possibility of ambiguity with the referent, the utterances have a deictic component involved. In addition, it is proposed that the use of definite articles and non-determiners could be explained by analogical leveling, a transposition of properties between the common nouns ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ and proper nouns [1][2][3].
Chilean speakers’ preferences for referring to parents: mi vs. el/la vs. null
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
In Spanish, it is common to use unstressed possessive determiners in the prenominal position to refer to ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ in a conversation between members of the same family (1.a), and in some regions it is common the use of ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ as vocatives for the same purpose (1.b). In Chile, including the other uses, the use of definite articles is also a way of referring to parents (1.c). Consider the following examples:
(1) Context: A conversation between siblings about their parents.
(1.a)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a mi mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el de mi papá.
(1.b)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el de papá.
(1.c)
A: ¿Le compraste un regalo a la mamá?
B: Sí, pero se me olvidó el del papá.
This work aims to explain these three different uses in Chilean Spanish focusing on the effects of the speaker’s choices, and to analyze the different implicatures that arise when speakers prefer to use one form rather than another.
The research questions are: what are the preferences of Chilean speakers for referring to parents in the context of a family? Is there any correlation between those preferences and sociolinguistic variables? Are those preferences motivated by pragmatic intuitions?
In order to answer these questions, and since these preferences may vary depending on contexts and participants, this study includes a preliminary analysis of the results of a perception survey (in-progress) applied to Chilean native speakers. The hypothesis is that, although speakers have different preferences of usage, there is a common perception of what choice is perceived more formal in the dialect.
The results of the analysis of the different usages show that some utterances have an expressive component involved, and when definite articles are used, and there is a possibility of ambiguity with the referent, the utterances have a deictic component involved. In addition, it is proposed that the use of definite articles and non-determiners could be explained by analogical leveling, a transposition of properties between the common nouns ‘mamá’ and ‘papá’ and proper nouns [1][2][3].