Syntactic Determinants of Pragmatic Markers of “Closure”

Abstract

This paper explores the notion of closure in a set of Spanish adverbial and prepositional expressions (finalmente, alfin, por fin, en fin) whose basic form is the stem fin end. These forms appear to cover a variety of related meanings ranging from a basic adverbial modifier, to a text sequential pointer, to an extraclausal pragmatic marker highlighting the speaker's expectations. The distribution of the semantic space of closure as determined by pragmatic and syntactic conditions constitutes the main issue of the paper. From a Cognitive Grammar perspective, we show that the emergence of pragmatic values is determined by a high degree of transitivity, in terms of individuation, telicity, volition and force-dynamics. The analysis predicts that a low degree of transitivity will lead to temporal and spatial readings while those with a higher degree of transitivity will involve a change in the objective/subjective alignment of the conceptualizer, yielding a major involvement of the speaker in the event.