Variación morfosintáctica y lenguas en contacto: las formas analíticas y sintéticas del presente progresivo en el español monolingüe y bilingüe

Abstract

In this study we present a quantitative analysis of the morphosyntactic variation of the analytic (present progressive) and synthetic (simple present) forms of present progressive aspect in monolingual and bilingual Spanish. By way of a contextualized questionnaire previously coded for the linguistic factors of verbal lexical aspect and semantics of the adverb, we identify the contexts of variation of the forms under investigation. In addition, the analysis includes the extralinguistic factors of gender and bilingualism. The results indicate that lexical aspect of the verb, as well as the semantic value of the adverb, are significant factors in the prediction of both forms. Similarly, the factor regarding participant level of bilingualism has a significant effect. We contribute methodologically to the study of the variation of the analytic and synthetic forms of Spanish present progressive aspect given that the instrument employed in the current study controls the linguistic variables and obtains the same number of responses per person, allowing for a comparable evaluation of participants in similar contexts. Finally, we add to the previous literature on this topic by providing evidence that the synthetic and analytic forms appear in variation in a larger number of contexts than previously recognized, allowing for an accurate definition of the variable context.