Variación sociolingüística en el empleo de un nuevo marcador discursivo: ahora sí que en el español de México

Abstract

This article analyzes the distribution of the discourse marker ahora sí (que) in two varieties of Mexican Spanish, Mexico City and Monterrey, and at two different time periods. Making use of the PRESEEA corpora from both cities and another two corpora of sociolinguistic interviews collected several decades ago, the study finds clear diachronic and geographic differences: the discourse marker is more frequent in Mexico City than in Monterrey and, in both varieties, it is more frequent in the more recent corpora. Moreover, the frequency analysis of the discourse marker shows interesting social differences in the use of ahora sí (que) in Mexico City, where it is favored by young speakers, men and speakers of low and medium instruction.