The role of prefabs in the spread and conservation of grammatical constructions. Two case studies on Spanish verbal periphrases

Abstract

This paper explores the role conventionalized multi-word units or prefabs play in the development of certain constructions. Drawing on the arguments put forward by Bybee and Torres Cacoullos (2009) and Rosemeyer (2014, p. 75 et passim), two case studies on the emergence and evolution of Spanish verbal periphrases are presented. The first case discusses the development of the periphrasis andar (‘to walk’/‘to go around’) + gerund. It is argued that the existence of the particular instance andar buscando (‘to walk/go around searching’) is likely to have functioned as the driving force behind the spread and grammaticalization of the construction. The second case study examines the periphrasis proseguir (‘to continue’) + gerund, showing that the originally high usage frequency of the construction was largely due to the instance proseguir diciendo (‘to continue saying’). Notably, this instance seems to be crucial in preserving the construction, which nowadays has a rather low frequency. Both case studies are based on quantitative data extracted from the diachronic language corpora Gradia and CORDE. The results of the analyses give reason to assign a more prominent role to prefabs in the research on Spanish verbal periphrases in general.