Diachrony of Complex Constructions Introduced by aunque in Peninsular Spanish

Abstract

this study diachronically analyzes concessive constructions introduced by the connective aunque in Peninsular Spanish data, within the theoretical framework of Construction Grammar (Traugott & Trousdale, 2013; Bybee, 2016, among others), in order to identify constructional patterns and their respective changes over time. To this end, occurrences from Peninsular Spanish in its Old, Middle, and Modern stages were examined, drawn from the Corpus Diacrónico del Español (CORDE). By observing the properties of concessive constructions with respect to their frequency, the function they perform, the factuality they express, and their morphosyntactic configuration, the analysis shows that, as frequency increases, concessive constructions introduced by aunque begin to operate in new contexts of use, thus shifting from a semantic function to an interpersonal function. These functional changes are accompanied by changes in constructional patterns. Furthermore, it is possible to attest a categorial shift of aunque, which, in the more recent stages of Spanish, comes to function as a discourse marker.