Los efectos condicionantes del verbo en el uso variable de los pronombres personales de sujeto

Numerous studies (Abreu 2009; Carvalho & Child 2011; Enríquez 1984; Hurtado 2005; Otheguy & Zentella 2012; Posio 2011; Travis 2005a; among others) have determined that, regardless of the analytical configuration employed, verb semantics strongly conditions the variation between overt and covert subjects. The present study explores the effects of the verb in the expression of overt subjects, based on 8,286 tokens extracted from recorded conversations with Spanish speakers from four communities: a) Barranquilla, Colombia, b) Puerto Rico, c) Colombian residents of New York City, and d) Puerto Rican residents in Louisiana, USA. Classifying verbs according to traditional parameters, we obtained results that coincide with previous studies, but provide us with a limited and/or problematic analysis (Posio 2011: 780; Orozco & Guy 2008: 77). Taking into account other studies that examine the role of lexical frequency (Erker & Guy 2012; Posio 2011; Bayley, Ware & Holland 2013), our analysis of lexical verb frequency reveals the need to study more closely the effects of the verb on subject expression. As previous work indicates (Travis 2005b, 2007; Posio 2011; Erker & Guy 2012), to obtain more definite information, we need to look beyond verb semantics as we incorporate not only verbal features, but also the frequency with which certain verbs occur.

Actas del XVII Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de la América Latina, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil, July 14th-18th