Lexical Idiosyncrasy: How the Verb Conditions Language Variation in Spanish

The verb conditions several linguistic variables, namely subject pronoun expression (Carvalho, Orozco & Shin 2015; Enríquez 1984; Otheguy & Zentella 2012; Silva-Corvalán & Enrique-Arias 2017; among others) and futurity... [ view full abstract ]

The verb conditions several linguistic variables, namely subject pronoun expression (Carvalho, Orozco & Shin 2015; Enríquez 1984; Otheguy & Zentella 2012; Silva-Corvalán & Enrique-Arias 2017; among others) and futurity (Kyzar 2014; Orozco 2015, 2018; Méndez-Vallejo 2008; among others). Interestingly, the effects of the verb have been investigated employing predictor and factor configurations based on semantic and morphosyntactic criteria. We analyze the effects of the verb on futurity and subject pronoun expression (SPE) in Spanish using data from four speech communities—two bilingual (New York City Colombians and NYC Puerto Ricans) and two monolingual (Barranquilla, Colombia, and Xalapa, Mexico). Initial results—based on traditionally used verbal categories—largely concur with previous studies, confirming that the verb significantly conditions both SPE and futurity. Because alternatives to the traditional configurations used to explore the verb have emerged (Erker & Guy 2012; Orozco 2017, 2018), we probe the lexical effects of the verb. Results uncover opposite tendencies between verbs in the same morphosyntactic or semantic category in both linguistic variables as well as among our corpora. These findings help explain more accurately the effects of the verb on language variation and change. Among other things, we provide evidence that grouping verbs according to semantic or morphosyntactic criteria blurs important differences between verbs in a given category. Moreover, a cross-corpora comparison uncovers that the lexical effects of the verb do not exhibit the cross-dialectal similarity of effects attested in most other internal futurity and SPE predictors. For example, saber ‘know’ favors null subjects in Xalapa, has a neutral effect in New York, and favors overt subjects in Barranquilla. Thus, these results set the verb apart from all other internal language variation and change predictors. They provide evidence that the differences in how verbs condition language variation in our corpora may be triggered by lexical idiosyncrasy. That is, the effects of the verb on a given linguistic variable differ among speech communities due to the intrinsic idiosyncratic characteristics of a community’s lexicon. This study widens our collective analytical scope, enhances the explanatory power of our findings regarding language variation and change, and opens interesting research avenues.