Levels of Language Use and Verbal Periphrasis
Levels of Language Use
Three levels are distinguished:
- Cultivated Level: Characterized by an elaborated code and adherence to grammatical rules (primarily written language).
- Reflective and thoughtful language.
- Complete and correct syntactic structures.
- Precise and varied lexicon.
- An original style and creativity.
- Colloquial or Familiar Level: Employs a restricted code with common expressions (primarily oral).
- Improvised, spontaneous, fast, and direct expression.
- Short sentences (sometimes incomplete).
- Less precise and more limited lexicon than the cultivated level.
- Abundance of idioms, proverbs, metaphors, colloquialisms, and filler words.
- Unconscious choice of language, more intuitive and emotional.
- Predominance of expressive, appellative, and phatic functions.
- Frequent use of codes directed at the receiver.
- Many interrogative, exclamatory, and suspensive expressions; colloquial and affectionate language.
- Vulgar Level: Characterized by the speaker’s limited linguistic training, often incorporating slang (phonetic, morphological, syntactic, lexical, or semantic).
Functions of Language
- Denotative or Representative Function: Dominates messages with a factual intent (objective, verifiable data; prevalence of specific adjectives and characteristics; use of scientific terminology).
- Expressive or Emotive Function: Predominates in messages that reveal the subjectivity of the sender (presence of explanatory or evaluative adjectives; demonstrative pronouns and verb forms of the 1st and 2nd person; expressions that convey value judgments).
- Appellative Function: Predominates in messages whose primary purpose is to influence the receiver’s conduct, attempting to elicit a response (e.g., announcements or advertisements).
- Contact Function: Occurs when the sender uses expressions to ensure the receiver understands the message.
Verbal Periphrasis
Modal Periphrasis
Obligation
- Deber + infinitive (e.g., Debes bailar más – You should dance more.)
- Tener que + infinitive (e.g., Tienes que comer más – You have to eat more.)
- Haber de / Haber que + infinitive (e.g., Has de reír más – You have to laugh more.)
Deliberate
- Pensar + infinitive (e.g., No pienso ir – I’m not planning to go.)
Possibility
- Deber de + infinitive (e.g., Debe de llegar dentro de una semana – He should arrive within a week.)
- Poder + infinitive (e.g., Podría llegar dentro de una hora – He could arrive within an hour.)
Aspectual Periphrasis
Infinitive
Imminent Action
- Ir a + infinitive (e.g., Voy a salir – I’m going to go out.)
- Estar por + infinitive (e.g., Estamos por leer la obra – We are about to read the play.)
Inchoative (Action at its Beginning)
- Echar(se) a + infinitive (e.g., Me echo a correr – I start to run.)
- Romper a + infinitive (e.g., Rompió a llorar – He/She burst into tears.)
- Ponerse a + infinitive (e.g., Se puso a cantar – He/She began to sing.)
Iterative and Habitual
- Volver a + infinitive (e.g., Lo leo otra vez – I read it again.)
- Soler + infinitive (e.g., Solía navegar en verano – He used to sail in the summer.)
Gerund
- Estar + gerund (e.g., Están ensayando la obra – They are rehearsing the play.)
- Llevar + gerund (e.g., Llevo días planeándolo – I’ve been planning it for days.)
- Seguir + gerund (e.g., Sigue considerando tu propuesta – He/She is still considering your proposal.)
- Andar + gerund (e.g., Anda diciendo que está enfermo – He goes around saying that he is sick.)
- Ir + gerund (e.g., Vamos recogiendo mientras tanto – We’ll collect in the meantime.)
Participle
- Tener + participle (e.g., Te tengo dicho que seas puntual – I have told you to be on time.)
- Llevar + participle (e.g., Lleva revisado por el juez – It has been reviewed by the judge.)
- Dejar + participle (e.g., Deja ordenado la transferencia mensual – Leave the monthly transfer ordered.)