Los conectores pragmáticos como índices de modalidad en español actual

Abstract

The present proyect studies those structures of the Spanish Language, that are not only linking elements in the speech, but also modalizers. They reflect their modal value and allow us to infer the type of relation between the speakers from the attitude they express when emitting the speech. We are talking about elements such as: really, in fact, exactly, precisely, of course, just so, sure enough, by the way, at least, in fact... Being aware of the problems that come across with this study of modality, that is to say the attitude of the speaker with the listener and the speech. The molalizer plays its role, as part of the different modalities of the speech (indicates objectivity), as well as the modalities of the way to perform the speech (shows subjectivity). Therefore, the linguistic forms we are going to be dealing with, express in one way or another, the opinion or intention of the speaker in relation with what he/she is speaking and/or his/her relation with the listener. Moreover, the units we are going to study, are frecuently used in the conversation, however, their status in the different grammars is not well defined, there are formulas that we use to link the different parts of the speech. Besides that, all those formulas have certain modal value. Furthermore, for the purpose of this study, a written corpus has been taken. That is the Spanish novel Caperucita en Manhattan by Carmen Martín Gaite. This novel has been chosen due to the fact that it is mainly written in dialogue and the language used is colloquial.