In the last decade, several studies have shown the polyfunctionality of the particle como in Spanish. Beyond its approximating semantic value, it has been established that como also fulfils pragmaticdiscursive functions, such as retardation, mitigation and introduction of direct speech (Holmvik, 2011; Jørgensen, 2012; Panussis, 2016; Mondaca, 2017; Panussis and San Martín, 2017, Mondaca, 2019). This paper aims to analyze, on the one hand, the relationship between the approximating use of como and its function as a direct speech introducer in Chilean Spanish, in order to establish what types of information are introduced in direct style, through this particle, by the speakers. On the other hand, and from an exploratory perspective, the study pursues to identify the syntactic combinations that como, as a direct speech introducer, presents. To achieve these aims, a corpus of 24 sociolinguistic interviews collected in the Fondecyt Project 11110211 has been used. The distribution of this corpus includes six speakers from each of the four geographical macro-areas of Chile (Wagner, 1998, 2004). The main results show the following: a) The function of introduction of direct speech associated to como is linked to the approximating value of the particle; b) the direct speech introduced by como not only reproduces speech quotes, but also thoughts, hypothetical speech, stereotyped speech, and attitudes; and, c) although como can operate as an only introductory element of direct speech, most frequently it acts in combination with other elements, such as the verb ser and the adverb así.
Keywords:
Como, Discourse particles, Approximators, Direct reported speech, Chilean Spanish
Mondaca Becerra, L. (2021). Direct speech introduction through the approximator como in Chilean Spanish. Boletín De Filología, 56(1), pp. 401–427. Retrieved from https://pedagogiaderecho.uchile.cl/index.php/BDF/article/view/64220
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