Book Description

This dissertation is a historical examination of the distribution patterns of copulae, specifically ser, estar, and haber/haver, within the context of Ibero-Romance languages. Employing a multidimensional qualitative approach, the study conducts an in-depth analysis of their usage across various grammatical structures, encompassing sentences, phrases, and clauses. The theoretical framework primarily adopts a functional perspective centred around information structure and information status whilst also incorporating semantics, morphology, and syntax considerations. The investigation strategically focuses on the Castilian (Spanish), Portuguese, Catalan, and Aragonese languages. Chapter one is an inductive exploration of influential syntax, semantics, and pragmatics studies, establishing the theoretical foundations underpinning subsequent data analysis. Chapter two initiates with a brief discussion on existential and locative constructions in Latin, followed by a qualitative analysis of early Castilian and early Portuguese samples. Chapter three parallels the structure of chapter two by presenting data from early Catalan and early Aragonese. Throughout chapters two and three, relevant theoretical notions, including those previously introduced in chapter one, are integrated into the discussion. Finally, chapter four expands upon previous observations and proposals, offering avenues for further investigation and consolidating the principal conclusions derived from the preceding chapters. This research advances the field of Romance linguistics by conducting a re-evaluation of the taxonomy concerning locative and existential constructions within the framework of Ibero-Romance languages. Our argument asserts that despite their apparent differences in informational status, these constructions inherently share a common underlying informational structure and historical foundation. Moreover, we propose that the disappearance of the proform in Western Ibero-Romance catalysed a significant transformation in the usage of copulae for expressing existence and location in modern varieties. As a result, we identify three distinct categories: 1) General Presence, 2) Stage-level, and 3) Locative Presence, which present a novel model for the unification of presence expression.