Papers by Paula Rodríguez-Abruñeiras
Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación
This paper explores the current use of the verb like in sequences such as “me likey”. This new us... more This paper explores the current use of the verb like in sequences such as “me likey”. This new use is practically limited to modern variant spellings (likey, likee, like-y and likie) and resembles the original (and now obsolete) impersonal structure of the verb in which the experiencer was encoded in the objective case and the verb was used invariably, among other aspects. However, rather than the re-emergence of an impersonal construction, the sequence “me likey” seems to be the result of a situation of language contact and it is in line with the informalisation of English as seen, for example, in the increasing tendency for objective pronouns to be used in subject position in a variety of constructions. In light of the evidence from the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the TV Corpus, we can conclude that the sequence is used in highly informal registers, and that it tends to appear in rather formulaic expressions, especially in two-word sequences.
Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 2022
This paper explores the current use of the verb LIKE in sequences such as “me likey”. This new us... more This paper explores the current use of the verb LIKE in sequences such as “me likey”. This new use is practically limited to modern variant spellings (LIKEY, LIKEE, LIKE-Y and LIKIE) and resembles the original (and now obsolete) impersonal structure of the verb in which the experiencer was encoded in the objective case and the verb was used invariably, among other aspects. However, rather than the re-emergence of an impersonal construction, the sequence “me likey” seems to be the result of a situation of language contact and it is in line with the informalisation of English as seen, for example, in the increasing tendency for objective pronouns to be used in subject position in a variety of constructions. In light of the evidence from the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the TV Corpus, we can conclude that the sequence is used in highly informal registers, and that it tends to appear in rather formulaic expressions, especially in two-word sequences.
English Today, 2022
This research shows that in Present-day English there exist new uses of the verb TO LIKE in seque... more This research shows that in Present-day English there exist new uses of the verb TO LIKE in sequences such as ‘me likey’, which are reminiscent of the now obsolete impersonal constructions. This new use is limited to modern variant spellings (LIKEY, LIKEE) and resembles the original (and now obsolete) impersonal structure of the verb in which the experiencer was encoded in the objective case. However, rather than the re-emergence of an impersonal construction, the sequence ‘me likey’ seems to be in line with the informalisation of English as seen, for example, in the increasing tendency for objective pronouns to be used in subject position in a variety of constructions (e.g. ‘you and me’ as subject). In light of the evidence from the Corpus of Historical American English and the iWeb Corpus, we can conclude that the sequence is used in highly informal registers, and that it tends to appear in rather formulaic expressions which resemble a snowclone: most examples consist of two-word sequences in which an invariable LIKEY is preceded by a (pro)nominal form (mostly the objective pronoun me but also proper names or the negative particle NO). Finally, although the origin of the expression seems to be marked by racist connotations, it is now mostly used by people in an informal and relaxed way, with no intention to sound denigrating or insulting.
Research in Corpus Linguistics (RiCL), 2021
Corpus Linguistics has proved of great value as a methodological tool in shedding light on how di... more Corpus Linguistics has proved of great value as a methodological tool in shedding light on how discourse is constructed in different text types. This opening contribution to the special issue "Corpus-linguistic perspectives on textual variation" provides an account of some of the most common applications of Corpus Linguistics, describes some of the most widely used corpora, and pins down some of the most influential corpus-based research works. In so doing, we contextualise the contributions to this collection of articles. The main aim of this special issue is to showcase cutting-edge research on textual variation based on linguistic corpora, thus illustrating how Corpus Linguistics draws from but also feeds a multiplicity of linguistic branches, such as (Critical) Discourse Analysis, Register Studies, Historical Linguistics, and Dialectology.
Atlantis, 2021
This article analyses the use of the example markers FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE in exemplifying... more This article analyses the use of the example markers FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE in exemplifying, selective and argumentative constructions. Of these three uses, exemplification—twofold sequences with a first general unit or hyperonym and a second more specific item or hyponym—has received recurrent attention in the literature, whereas selection—constructions where the first element is omitted—and argumentation—the use of example markers to connect whole chunks of discourse—have long been ignored. The present study, using data from ARCHER 3.2, shows that the three uses have coexisted since at least the second half of the seventeenth century and that argumentation prevails in both British and American English. Moreover, example markers are very productive in certain genres, such as science, sermons and advertising. Additionally, even though the primary function of example markers is to introduce their scope domain, they have developed different pragmatic values that bring them closer to the category of discourse markers. Thus, for example, their use as mitigators makes them an optimal tool for smoothing interaction and hence reducing the risk of offending our interlocutor.
Exploring Discourse and Ideology through Corpora, 2021
Linguistics, 2020
This article discusses the diachronic development of the Spanish multifunctional formula EN PLAN ... more This article discusses the diachronic development of the Spanish multifunctional formula EN PLAN (with its variant EN PLAN DE, literally ‘in plan (of)’ but usually equivalent to English LIKE). The article has two main aims: firstly, to describe the changes that the formula has undergone since its earliest occurrences as a marker in the nineteenth century up to the early 21st century. The diachronic study evinces a process of grammaticalization in three steps: from noun to clause adverbial and then to discourse marker. Secondly, to conduct a contrastive analysis between EN PLAN (DE) and the English markers LIKE and KIND OF/KINDA so as to shed new light on the potential existence of a universal pathway of grammaticalization in the emergence of discourse markers.
English Studies 101, 2020
Givón’s words “today’s morphology is yesterday’s syntax” have been widely used to describe gramma... more Givón’s words “today’s morphology is yesterday’s syntax” have been widely used to describe grammaticalization, a process of linguistic change which implies an increase in the grammatical status of a word or construction. In this paper, the process of grammaticalization of (FOR) EXAMPLE and (FOR) INSTANCE from nouns to example markers will be described. The paper will also address the incipient lexicalization of these expressions. However, this process is still at a very early phase. In light of the corpus material, the lexicalization of for example and for instance can be summarized with the analogous formula “today’s syntax might be tomorrow’s lexis”, a more tentative motto since lexical constructions do not frequently originate in syntax. The examples analysed here show that grammaticalization and lexicalization may at times feed each other.
Multiperspectives in Analysis and Corpus Design, 2020
Examples can be defined as pragmatic insertions in the body of a text which serve a communicative... more Examples can be defined as pragmatic insertions in the body of a text which serve a communicative (and sometimes also an ornamental) function. They are useful for making general abstractions easier to follow, or for defending a given standpoint. This paper examines the use of FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE to introduce examples, following Eggs & McElholm’s (2013) typology of exemplifying, selective and argumentative uses. Of these, the latter are especially common in both British and American English in the early twenty-first century. The study also reveals that the different positions occupied by the example markers may bring about various pragmatic nuances, such as focus or mitigation. Central to this article is a textual analysis based on the text type within which the selected example markers are used. Overall, whereas FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE are rarely used in imaginative prose, they are very frequent in some formal text types, especially in science.
Of ye olde English langage and texts: New perspectives on Old and Middle English language and literature, 2020
This paper analyses how coordination and subordination are brought into play in three types of me... more This paper analyses how coordination and subordination are brought into play in three types of medical discourse as represented in the Corpus of Middle English Medical Texts, namely theoretical treatises, surgical treatises and remedies. Medicine is considered to be the spearhead of the vernacularisation of science in medieval times, which is why the analysis of three types of medical texts with different traditions and degrees of formality may provide valuable insights into the variation that may be present in them. Thus, the study shows that clausal coordination is the most frequent function in the three text types under study, as opposed to binomials, phrasal coordination and complex coordination. As for subordination, both the variety and frequency of connectors decreases from the most formal (namely theoretical treatises) to the least formal (i.e. remedies) set of texts. However, the three text types are comparable in that they show a clear preference for the use of the same subordinators: THAT, IF, AS and WHEN.
RESLA - Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada, 2020
A partir de un estudio de corpus, en este trabajo se analiza el empleo de la locución EN PLAN (DE... more A partir de un estudio de corpus, en este trabajo se analiza el empleo de la locución EN PLAN (DE) desde una perspectiva funcional. En términos generales, se distinguen un total de siete usos distintos, los cuales pueden agruparse en dos macrofunciones: la adverbial y la discursiva. Los usos discursivos tan solo se registran desde finales del siglo XX, y aparecen de forma más recurrente en textos orales. El estudio también muestra la variación existente entre la locución prepositiva EN PLAN DE y la adverbial EN PLAN, la cual gana terreno en los textos más recientes. Por último, se ofrece un análisis detallado del uso de en EN PLAN (DE) en el habla de los adolescentes españoles de comienzos del siglo XXI, pues es en este sector demográfico donde la fórmula tiene una frecuencia más elevada.
Brno Studies in English, 2019
The aim of this paper is to provide a formal and functional analysis of a selection of four Engli... more The aim of this paper is to provide a formal and functional analysis of a selection of four English exemplifying markers, namely INCLUDING, INCLUDED, FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE. The analysis unveils some recent ongoing changes which point at the broadening of the structural scope of INCLUDING (which used to link exclusively non phrases in the past but can now be used with a wider variety of syntactic forms) and an increasing discursive use of FOR EXAMPLE and FOR INSTANCE (both tend to connect whole chunks of discourse and seem to be developing pragmatic meanings, especially – but not exclusively – as mitigators). The corpus-driven study is based on the texts of the Brown family of corpora, which allows the identification of any potential diachronic variation observed at three points in present-day English (namely, the 1960s, the 1990s and the 2000s) in both British and American English.
HEAd’19 Proceedings, 2019
The present paper deals with a proposal for enhancing students’ engagement in the course ‘History... more The present paper deals with a proposal for enhancing students’ engagement in the course ‘History of the English Language’ of the Degree in English Studies (Universitat de València). For the purpose, the traditional lectures will be combined with a research project carried out by groups of students (research teams) in which two digital tools will be used: electronic linguistic corpora and YouTube. Electronic linguistic corpora, on the one hand, will allow students to discover the diachronic development of certain linguistic features by looking at real data and making conclusions based on frequencies by themselves. YouTube, on the other, is a most appropriate online environment where students will share a video lecture so that their classmates can benefit from the research work they did, fostering peer-to-peer learning. The expected results are to make students more autonomous in their learning process, as they will be working on their project from the very beginning of the course; and to engage them more effectively since they will be working in a format that resembles what they do at their leisure time.
Tonos Digital, 2019
Fecha de recepción: 28-3-2018 / Fecha de aceptación: 2-1-2019
Miscelanea. A Journal of English and American Studies, 2017
Examples are discursive instruments intended to represent the more general unit to which they bel... more Examples are discursive instruments intended to represent the more general unit to which they belong. A prototypical exemplifying construction has a twofold structure consisting of a general element (GE; the first unit, with a more general referent) and an exemplifying element (EE; the second, more specific unit whose referent is included within the referent of the GE; these are the 'cases in point'). The use of an explicit link to indicate partial coreferentiality within these two units is compulsory. This paper focuses on those linking words/phrases which are used in English to convey such a relation, the so-called exemplifying markers (EMs). For a better understanding of these forms, a classification of such markers is proposed on the basis of semantic-pragmatic and syntactic criteria. With the aim of providing a more comprehensive approach to English EMs, some forms which were used in earlier stages of the language with an exemplifying function but which have now become obsolete are also discussed. Finally, the paper also draws attention to some forms which are not classified as EMs but which are on occasion found performing an exemplifying function.
Corpus Linguistics and Variation in English: Theory and Description, 2012
New Trends and Methodologies in Applied English Language Research II: Studies in Variation, Meaning and Learning, 2012
Current Trends in Anglophone Studies: Cultural, Linguistic and Literary Research, 2011
Proceedings of the 33rd AEDEAN International Conference, 2011
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Papers by Paula Rodríguez-Abruñeiras
Over the past few decades, scholars all around the world nave noticed that students have little interest in highly theoretical explanations on past stages of the English language (see Ritt 1999: 8 and Fernández-Cuesta and Senra-Silva 2001). On top of being rather theoretical and abstract, other reasons may contribute to the consideration of HEL (History of the English Language) as hell on the part of our students. First, its wide chronological scope, as we usually cover from Old English or even Indo-European up to Modern English or Present-day English. Second, its interdisciplinary reach, as we need to deal with aspects related to syntax, morphology, lexis, semantics, phonology, literature, and culture, among others. And all this in barely four months! As a result, it comes as no surprise that some of our students regard the subject as awesome, but in the original meaning of the word, that is, ‘inspiring awe; appalling, dreadful, weird’ (Oxford English Dictionary, awesome, adj., 2; cf. Hayes and Burkette 2017: 1). However, discovering the history of any language may be a rewarding, enlightening and amusing process, and we would like to transmit this to our students. It is precisely in this spirit that this textbook has been written. We hope this interactive proposal is more in tune with 21st-century students.
At the same time, we would also like to celebrate those women who are usually silenced when the past is told and who found ways to outmanoeuvre social or cultural norms. Although it is beyond the scope of this book to discuss in depth the role of women in society, most chapters provide some key notions on how women were regarded or how some of them made themselves visible in a male-dominant world. Unfortunately, the stories of many women will remain untold.