Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics

This article studies the formal variation of the masculine singular forms of the quantifiers u/un ‘one’, algú/algun ‘someone, some’, ningú/ningun ‘no-one, anyone, not one, any, none’ and cada u/cada un ‘everyone, each one’ in contemporary Catalan. The standard uses of these forms are contrasted with...

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Autor principal:	Joan-Rafael Ramos
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	CA EN
Publicado:	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2020
Materias:	Catalan dialects formal variation iconicity language change pragmatics quantifier Philology. Linguistics P1-1091
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/514fce4025ba43cf88e7c9fb4baf6bdb
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:514fce4025ba43cf88e7c9fb4baf6bdb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:514fce4025ba43cf88e7c9fb4baf6bdb2021-11-27T10:46:13ZFormal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics10.5565/rev/catjl.3081695-68852014-9719https://doaj.org/article/514fce4025ba43cf88e7c9fb4baf6bdb2020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://revistes.uab.cat/catJL/article/view/308https://doaj.org/toc/1695-6885https://doaj.org/toc/2014-9719This article studies the formal variation of the masculine singular forms of the quantifiers u/un ‘one’, algú/algun ‘someone, some’, ningú/ningun ‘no-one, anyone, not one, any, none’ and cada u/cada un ‘everyone, each one’ in contemporary Catalan. The standard uses of these forms are contrasted with dialectal uses, obtained from a thorough search in oral and written corpora. In addition, they are compared with the uses in the other Romance languages and with their historical evolution in Catalan. The whole set of data, and especially the dialectal information on the Valencian area, allow us to explain the various factors that have interacted in the variation and formal change of these quantifiers. Among these factors, the fundamental role of pragmatics stands out above the rest. It is shown that, given the polysemy and synonymy caused by vacillations between the variants of the quantifiers, strategies are sought to improve communicative effectiveness, so that the differentiation between form and function becomes firmly established in the majority of quantifiers. Other prominent factors are those of analogical and, above all, phonological nature, which, on the one hand, explain the syncretism of the form un, and, on the other, enable us to understand the reasons why in the Valencian area there is a process of substitution of genuine forms by borrowings from Spanish.Joan-Rafael RamosUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaarticleCatalan dialectsformal variationiconicitylanguage changepragmaticsquantifierPhilology. LinguisticsP1-1091CAENCatalan Journal of Linguistics (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	CA EN
topic	Catalan dialects formal variation iconicity language change pragmatics quantifier Philology. Linguistics P1-1091
spellingShingle	Catalan dialects formal variation iconicity language change pragmatics quantifier Philology. Linguistics P1-1091 Joan-Rafael Ramos Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
description	This article studies the formal variation of the masculine singular forms of the quantifiers u/un ‘one’, algú/algun ‘someone, some’, ningú/ningun ‘no-one, anyone, not one, any, none’ and cada u/cada un ‘everyone, each one’ in contemporary Catalan. The standard uses of these forms are contrasted with dialectal uses, obtained from a thorough search in oral and written corpora. In addition, they are compared with the uses in the other Romance languages and with their historical evolution in Catalan. The whole set of data, and especially the dialectal information on the Valencian area, allow us to explain the various factors that have interacted in the variation and formal change of these quantifiers. Among these factors, the fundamental role of pragmatics stands out above the rest. It is shown that, given the polysemy and synonymy caused by vacillations between the variants of the quantifiers, strategies are sought to improve communicative effectiveness, so that the differentiation between form and function becomes firmly established in the majority of quantifiers. Other prominent factors are those of analogical and, above all, phonological nature, which, on the one hand, explain the syncretism of the form un, and, on the other, enable us to understand the reasons why in the Valencian area there is a process of substitution of genuine forms by borrowings from Spanish.
format	article
author	Joan-Rafael Ramos
author_facet	Joan-Rafael Ramos
author_sort	Joan-Rafael Ramos
title	Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
title_short	Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
title_full	Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
title_fullStr	Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
title_full_unstemmed	Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics
title_sort	formal variation and language change in catalan quantifiers: the role of pragmatics
publisher	Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/514fce4025ba43cf88e7c9fb4baf6bdb
work_keys_str_mv	AT joanrafaelramos formalvariationandlanguagechangeincatalanquantifierstheroleofpragmatics
_version_	1718409045927264256

Formal Variation and Language Change in Catalan Quantifiers: The Role of Pragmatics

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