Quiero para mi novio

Abstract

There is an extensive bibliography on the meanings of the Spanish preposition para but very little has been done to address the different traits that this form acquires in contact varieties of Spanish. Paraguayan Spanish exhibits a high incidence of an innovative use of the preposition para that has been attributed to contact with Guaraní: the 'anticipated possession' construction, which has similar characteristics to the Guaraní marker of prospective aspect -rã. Comparative data confirm the existence of a close correspondence between this innovative extension of para and the uses of -rã. We propose a process of grammatical replication (Heine & Kuteva 2005) by which para has acquired an aspectual function not evident in Standard Spanish. We show that the semantic and grammatical shift is motivated by specific intersecting semantic components of para and its Guaraní counterpart. We trace the path of grammaticalization from minor incipient uses to systemic contact-induced change, whereby para discards its prepositive function in favor of an overt representation of an aspectual role.

Aspectual Para in Paraguayan Spanish Directive Clauses

“…The present analysis complements a previous study (Velázquez-Castillo and Hudgens Henderson, 2013) in which the para of 'anticipated possession' was identified as the replicant of the Guaraní prospective aspect marker -rã, having discarded its prepositive function to mark nominal prospectivity. The Guaraní equivalent of (4) would use -rã to indicate the prospectivity of the lunch: a-japo che-rambosa-rã [1AC-make 1IN-lunch-RÃ] 'I prepare my lunch-rã [my future lunch]'.…”

“…Spanish and Guaraní have a long contact history, the linguistic results of which have been documented in various studies (De Granda, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1996Gómez Rendón, 2007;Gynan, 2011;Krivoshein de Canesse and Corvalán, 1987;Lipski, 2004;Melià, 1974Melià, , 1992Pottier, 1968;Usher de Herreros, 1976;Velázquez-Castillo, 1995Velázquez-Castillo and Hudgens Henderson, 2013). This study contributes to the literature on the linguistic influence Guaraní has had on Colloquial Paraguayan Spanish (CPS) by analyzing an innovative CPS construction, 'prospective directives', within the framework of grammatical replication (Heine andKuteva, 2003, 2005), proposing as the source the Guaraní prospective complementizer haguã.…”

“…Bakker, Gómez Rendón, and Hekking, 2008;Gómez Rendón, 2007;Melià, 1974Melià, , 1992Shain and Tonhauser, 2011) or on the influence of Guaraní on Spanish (e.g. Choi, 2000;De Granda, 1979, 1988, 1991, 1996Gynan, 2011;Klee and Lynch, 2009;Krivoshein de Canesse and Corvalán, 1987;Velázquez-Castillo, 1995Velázquez-Castillo and Hudgens Henderson, 2013). Studies of contact-induced morphosyntactic change have bestowed various names onto the phenomenon, including convergence, syntactic calquing, interference, and transfer; we aim to specify the process while avoiding terms that may be ambiguous.…”