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Hispanic Contact Linguistics: Theoretical, methodological and empirical perspectives
Edited by Luis A. Ortiz López, Rosa E. Guzzardo Tamargo and Melvin González-Rivera
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 22] 2020
► pp. 163–178

Chapter 7
Use of the Present Perfect Indicative in New York Dominican Spanish

| University at Albany, SUNY
| University at Albany, SUNY
| University at Albany, SUNY

Several studies have examined the functional distribution of the Present Perfect (PP) in Peninsular and Latin American Spanish. This study contributes to this line of research through examination of the morphology and function of PP in New York Dominican Spanish. The objective is to examine the degrees of diffusion and frequency of use of this tense in the speech of bilingual speakers. We also examine the functions of all PP occurrences in interviews with 23 speakers and explore any innovative uses. Results show that the majority of participants use PP especially for events that occurred in the indefinite past or continue to have current relevance, which is the normative context in which PP is used (Comrie, 1976).

Keywords: Dominican Spanish, Present Perfect, Preterite, Spanish in the US
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Present Perfect in Spanish
    • 2.2Present Perfect in US Spanish
    • 2.3Present Perfect in Dominican Spanish
    • 2.4The community
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Data collection and extraction
    • 3.3Variables and coding criteria
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Diffusion of PP use
    • 4.2PP form
      • 4.2.1Auxiliary verb
      • 4.2.2Past participle
    • 4.3PP function
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 14 February 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.22.07cor
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