SPANISH (EUROPEAN)

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Himmelreich, Anke, Melissa Jeckel, Katharina Hartmann, Johannes Mursell (2021): Agreement with Coordinated Subjects in the World's Languages [Data set]. Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main (Link: https://www.multivaluation.de/database.php)

Overview

Data Collection

The data shown here were elicited with a native speaker who was born in Phillipines but moved to the Madrid area at a very young age and still lives there. The speaker was asked to rate sentences on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the best possible score. In the examples, we translate the numeric judgments as follows: 1 = *, 2 = ??, 3 = ?, 4/5 = fully grammatical (Data by: Jennifer Tan)

Patterns for number

Coordination with ``and''

SV order

Pattern: There is plural marking throughout.

Examples:

VS order

Pattern: Again, there is plural marking throughout.

Examples:

Coordination with ``or''

SV order

Pattern: There is plural throughout. However, for two singular disjuncts, singular is also possible, depending on the interpretation. (Note from the informant: ``Intuitively, both for me are possible and could be distinguished only within context (plural if inclusive or showing indifference regarding the subject who runs, singular if expressing exclusiveness, being either the boy or the man who runs''.)

Examples:

VS order

Pattern: Two singulars resolve to singular. Mismatched cases allow either plural or first disjunct agreement.

Examples:

Patterns for person

Coordination with ``and''

SV order

Pattern: First person singular first conjuncts are ineffable. As second conjunct, they always trigger first person on the verb. The other combinations seem to prefer to resolve to second person with third also being possible with third person first conjuncts. (Number is resolved to plural.)

Examples:

VS order

Pattern: Similar patterns to SV order with the exception that 1-3 can be resolved to 1. (Number is resolved to plural.)

Examples:

Coordination with ``or''

SV order

Pattern: In combinations of 2 and 1, there is resolved agreement to 1pl. In other combinations resolved agreement (to the higher person on the hierarchy 1 > 2 > 3) or closest conjunct agreement is possible.

Examples:

VS order

Pattern: Again, considerable variation. In many cases, the preferred solutions seem to be closest conjunct agreement or resolution to plural number and person following the hierarchy 1 > 2 > 3. As for the disjunction tú o él (``you or he''), the informant remarks: ``Tricky. I assume you conjugate in the 2nd SG of the verb but can be interpreted as the imperative. In the 2nd SG reading, I give 1, in the imperative reading, I give 3''.

Examples: