Onomázein

Entre renovación y continuidad. Impacto de las teorías lingüísticas en la práctica lexicográfica

Begoña Sanromán Vilas, María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Methodological proposal for the semantic analysis of the emotional lexicon in Spanish: application to the lexicon close to excited in Spanish

María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a methodological proposal for the semantic analysis of emotions and an application to the lexicon close to excited in Spanish. The characteristics of two theoretical model on which our proposal is inspired are summarize briefly: the Natural Semantic Metalanguage and the Meaning-Text Theory. The former allows the meaning to be decomposed by means of the so-called semantic primes and molecules, being the semantic primes universal concepts which cannot be decomposed, and the molecules, universal words that can be decomposed into semantic primes. The second theory study the lexical combinatory and the phraseology by a formal language, based on lexical functions, a tool which facilitates the lexicographic task. The paper presents in detail the justification of the methodological proposal, based on corpus data and combinatory dictionaries data, and illustrated it with the analysis and semantic explications of the adjectives expectante (expectant), anhelante (eager to do sth), deseoso (eager), esperanzado (hopeful), optimista (optimistic) and ilusionado (excited).

The problem of translatability of sad-related adjectives in Spanish and English

María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez, Svetlana Antropova Antropova — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The objective of this study is to address translatability issues of the three sad-related adjectives in Spanish and English through the lens of Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework: a) triste/sad; b) abatido/dejected, depressed, and c) apesadumbrado/distressed, afflicted. Systematic corpus inquiry and semantic analysis was the methodology used to elaborate semantic explications of these adjectives in Spanish, which were contrasted to their English counterparts (Wierzbicka, 1972, 1992b). The findings point to the complexity of direct translation of these adjectives due to the following reasons. Firstly, in comparison to their English semi-equivalents, the explications of the Spanish adjectives proposed here are more meaning-specific and recognize more than one meaning for the same adjective (the cases of triste and abatido). The second problem derives from the combinatory with the two allolexes of to be in Spanish (ser, be permanently, and estar, be temporally). While in Spanish there is a distinction between feeling, attitude, and character trait for triste (sad), in English this distinction has not been described for sad. Finally, the explanations proposed here for the Spanish adjectives are richer in semantic features than the explanations of their English semi-equivalents. Although this prevents a direct comparison between both languages, the analysis led to some suggestions to lexicographers related to the definitions of emotions in bilingual dictionaries.

The verb ir in REDES: meaning and combinatorial pattern

María Teresa Burguillo Escobar — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study proposes an integration of the information regarding the combinatory properties of predicates from REDES dictionary (Bosque, 2004) into semantic analyses of motion verbs. This study had its major focus in the verb ir (to go), which image schema was juxtaposed with the lexical selection data provided by REDES. First, the prototypical meaning of this verb is described and classified as a motion verb with a goal. Subsequently, this study explores the combinational patterns of verbs akin to ir, contrasting their image schemata. Finally, a classification of combinatorial patterns of ir based on the image schema is presented, followed by a discussion on the core meaning of ir.

Nominal idiom that designates and predicates simultaneously

Roque Llorens García — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper proposes a continuum to establish the close relationship between adjective collocations such as lágrimas de cocodrilo and personaje estrella and nominal idioms such as media naranja and príncipe azul. This continuum is based on semantic opacity. To this end, a brief nominal idioms typology is developed, distinguishing between the idioms that work as a noun and the ones that work as an adjective. The description of the different types of nominal idioms allows to recognize the most relevant constructions for this research, which are the ones that work simultaneously as a noun and as an adjective (media naranja, ‘pareja perfecta’). The semantic paraphrase of these constructions demands at least one noun and one adjective; therefore, this type of idioms is categorized as complex nominal idioms.

Two Chinese “faces”: contrastive phraseology in the light of conceptual metaphor

Xuefei Lu, Carmen Chacón García — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a contrastive phraseological analysis of the Chinese terms “liǎn” and “miàn zi” and their equivalent “cara” in Spanish. The analysis of nine excerpts from the novel Dream of the Red Chamber confirms the high phraseological weight of the term “cara” in Chinese and the difficulties in finding equivalents in Spanish. The study is framed within the field of intercultural pragmatics and, drawing from cognitive metaphor theory, explores concepts associated with the notion of “face”, considering equivalent idiomatic expressions.

Tying the knot of language: unveiling the linguistic and conceptual tapestry of wedding idioms in English and Spanish

Beatriz Martín-Gascón — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper delves into the integration of phraseology and cognitive linguistics, using a comparative corpus-based analysis of idiomatic locutions concerning weddings and marriage in English and Spanish. Within a cognitive phraseology framework, the research focuses on their formal and semantic fixation and complexity, and examines their metaphorical motivation. By doing so, it addresses a significant gap in literature, facilitating deeper insights into linguistic and cultural representations of love and wedding traditions. Ultimately, this study advocates for further exploration of marriage idiomatic locutions from a cognitive phraseology perspective offering avenues for broader investigations into cultural traditions associated with love and other emotions.

Pragmatemes and stereotypical speech acts: convergences and divergences of two types of phraseological utterances

Vanesa Ovejas Martín — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this study is to analyse two types of phraseological utterances: pragmatemes, ut-terances restricted by the extralinguistic situation of use, and stereotypical speech acts, utterances with communicative intentions produced in a conversation. ¿De cuánto estás? or Recién pintado are examples of pragmatemes; Ya te digo or Lo que tú digas are examples of stereotypical speech acts. To study the similarities and differences between these two phraseological units, the database of 155 pragmatemes and 71 stereotypical speech acts was used. Their analysis, which included the description and comparison of their pragmatic-discursive and syntactic-semantic features, allowed us to identify and to propose some lexicographical keys for their introduction in the phraseological dictionary DiRetEs (Diccionario Reticular del Español). The findings reveal that the two units studied are utterances which have communicative intentions, although their relationship to context may differ. In relation to the syntactic-semantic dimension, both units are syntactically autonomous and generally multilexical. Furthermore, within this category, we find both transparent and idiomatic units, albeit the latter seems to be more frequent among stereotypical speech acts.

The paraphrastic approach in teaching collocations at advanced levels

Diego Sánchez Mayor — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The acquisition of collocations in second language learning currently represents an important line of research. The involvement of these constructions in the discourse, as another manifestation of the speaker's lexical knowledge, has sparked interest in examining how a L2 learner perceives and assimilates the collocations. It has been highlighted that collocations are a major obstacle even for advanced learners, since numerous errors are recorded. Aware of this difficulty, certain authors brought to light the overuse that these learners make of certain collocates (Spa. ex.: Le hicieron una pregunta), to the detriment of other solutions that could not be selected (Spa. ex.: Le {lanzaron/formularon/plantearon} una pregunta). Therefore, we argue the usefulness of utilizing the paraphrase, which is the semantic equivalence between different linguistic productions, as a methodological guideline to face this challenge. This proposal makes a pedagogical adaptation of the Lexical Functions of the Meaning-Text Theory (Mel'čuk, 1996, 2015; Mel'čuk and Polguère, 2021) with the goal to achieve a targeted, conscious, and thoughtful approach to the linguistic reality that the collocation represents. It is a methodology that aims at strengthening the learner's collocational competence. In this regard, this work includes a selection of exercises in Spanish that puts this proposal into practice.

Verbal reduplication with coordinating que as an example of syntactic idiom

Begoña Sanromán Vilas — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

While the ascription of que, meaning ‘that’, among the subordinating nexuses in Spanish is unquestionable, to the point of being considered the subordinating element par excellence, the status of que, meaning ‘and’, as a coordinating copulative conjunction attributed by some grammars is more debatable. Subordinating que introduces completive sentences with various functions (Dijo que vendría ‘S/he said that s/he would come’; Conviene que vengas ‘It is convenient that you come’, etc.). It also heads relative clauses (El libro que lees es denso ‘The book you are reading is dense’; La chica que ríe es Aino ‘The girl that is laughing is Aino’) and circumstantial sentences of different types, e.g., causal (Abrígate, que hace frío ‘Keep warm (because) it's cold’) and final (Grita que te oigan ‘Shout to be heard’). Despite its relatively fixed position and the fact that it requires the verb of the headed sentence to be in the indicative or subjunctive mood, subordinating que is inserted in sentences with segmentable components, devoid of lexical fixation and with compositional meaning. On the contrary, expressions with copulative coordinating que (Llora que (te) llora ‘S/he cries and cries’; Limpia que (te) limpia la casa ‘S/he cleans and cleans the house’) are indivisible, involving the lexical reduplication of a verb with low morphological variation and a meaning of continuation or iteration. This study analyses the expressions with coordinating que as syntactic idioms following Mel'čuk's (2023) classification of phraseological units. For this purpose, data are extracted from CORPES XXI and esTenTen18.

Modal lexicon and phraseology. A focus on the cases of realidad and verdad

María Amparo Soler Bonafont — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The aims of this paper are, on the one hand, to review the lexicographic definitions of a modal lexical set based on two of the most frequent and prolific lemmae in the oral and written use of synchronic Spanish: realidad and verdad. On the other hand, this study aims to deepen and investigate the productivity of their lemmatization as basic units of a multitude of set phrases, syntagms, locutions and other structures of modal epistemic denominal character. Based on the previous review and diagnosis, current work proposes a new perspective of definition of modal constructions whose lexical core are the noun units realidad and verdad. It was performed in accordance with the prevalent value of their modal manifestations, as well as with the frequency of their current uses (compared in the analysis with the corpus of concordances presented —CORPES XXI, RAE—). In this sense we observe that its loss of semantic treats and whitening of the nuclear units in benefit of the transmission of a degree of concrete presence of the speaker in what is said (Company Company, 2004) is eminent, in which it can be conceived as a scale of phenomenological (inter)subjectivity of second level (Husserl, 2002) linguistically codified from the lexical level.