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‘No sé qué también escribí en esa carta’: The usage of también in interrogative structures in the Spanish of Quito

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Vol. 57 No. 1 (2022)

Abstract

In Spanish Andean varieties, también ‘also, too’ has been recognized as a particle with multiple usages besides its canonical function of an additive (Babel 2010; Calvo Pérez 2000; Cerrón-Palomino 2003; Escobar 2000; Pfänder 2009; Toscano 1953). Among these usages, también as a marker of indefiniteness has been proposed by CerrónPalomino (2003). The author argues that its origin corresponds to the linguistic contact with Quechua and the suffix-pas, which fulfills additive and indefinite functions. The present study focuses on the function of también in direct or indirect interrogative structures, a usage that to a certain extent is related to the indefinite value described by Cerrón-Palomino (2003). The present analysis is based on empirical data of the Spanish of Quito collected on Twitter and from intuitions of native speakers of this Spanish variety. Building on the traditional description of this usage of también as an adverb of doubt that marks emphasis on the lack of knowledge of what is asked (Cordero 2021; Miño-Garcés 2020; Toscano 1953), this study offers an in-depth pragmatic account that shows that the usage of the structure ‘interrogative pronoun + también’ corresponds to a conventional implicature. The realis and irrealis moods of the speakers are in an interplay, and the usage of the structure is felicitous only when the speaker does not intend to resolve their lack of information by means of the interrogative clause.

Keywords:

también, Spanish of Quito, Andean Spanish, interrogative, pragmatics

Author Biography

Paola Enríquez Duque, The Ohio State University

Para correspondencia, dirigirse a: Paola Enríquez Duque (enriquezduque.1@osu.edu), Departamento de Español y Portugués, The Ohio State University, 1775 College Rd S, Columbus, OH 43210, Estados Unidos.

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How to Cite
Enríquez Duque, P. (2022). ‘No sé qué también escribí en esa carta’: The usage of también in interrogative structures in the Spanish of Quito. Boletín De Filología, 57(1), pp. 97–123. Retrieved from https://revistateoriadelarte.uchile.cl/index.php/BDF/article/view/67528
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Boletín de Filología
Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades
Universidad de Chile
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