In:Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary perspectives on Hispanic Linguistics
Edited by Gregory L. Thompson and Scott M. Alvord
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 46] 2026
► pp. 92–115
Chapter 4Semantic variation in Argentine Spanish
The domain of cutting and breaking
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Abstract
The focus of this paper is the phenomenon of
semantic variation in two varieties of Argentine Spanish in the
domain of events of material separation (cutting and breaking
[C&B]) (Bohnemeyer et al.,
2001). Variation in this domain has been explored
cross-linguistically (Jameson
& Webster, 2019; Majid et al., 2008; Pye et al., 1995) and diachronically within one language
(Du et al., 2020),
but semantic typological variation across regional varieties remains
underexplored. This paper explores the merits of applying
typological methods designed for cross-linguistic comparison to
different varieties of one language. Cross-linguistic variation in
the domain of C&B has been well-attested in semantic typology.
However, studies of the meaning and extension of lexis have yet to
be traditionally applied to interspeaker variation (Robinson, 2012). Given the
blurred distinctions between “language” and “variety” (McWhorter, 2016), it is
possible that semantic variation exists for different varieties of
the same language. Indeed, semantic variation is attested in Spanish
present perfect constructions (Ocampo, 2008). Additionally, it is essential to consider
typological universals when exploring local differentiation in a
language (Tagliamonte &
Jankowski, 2023). For this study, data were collected
from speakers of the Cordobés and Rioplatense varieties of Spanish
using the stimuli of a series of 28 video clips depicting various
events of material separation developed by Bohnemeyer et al. (2001). A total of 18
participants (11 female, 7 male, aged 18–54) viewed each video clip
and were then asked to describe the event verbally. The data were
coded for primary and secondary verb choice, demographic information
(age, participant origin, education level, second language, etc.),
and information on the response stimuli (instrument, manner, etc.).
Preliminary results indicate a possible distinction between Cordobés
and Rioplatense in the categorization of C&B events, though a
more in-depth study with a larger sample size is needed to obtain
conclusive results.
Keywords: regional variation, lexicalization, Spanish, semantics, material separation
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Semantic typology and language variation
- 3.Methods
- 3.1“Cut and break” clips description task
- 3.2Language history questionnaire
- 4.Results
- 5.Analysis
- 5.1MDS
- 5.2MDS values and regressions
- 5.3Cluster analysis
- 6.Discussion
- 7.Conclusions
- Author queries
References
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