Abstract

GRANADOS, Daniel. Attenuation and expansion of ahorita in Mexico City, a change analyzed from the apparent time perspective. Cuad. Lingüíst. Col. Méx. [online]. 2021, vol.8, e202.  Epub Dec 06, 2021. ISSN 2007-736X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/clecm.v8i0.202.

In Mexico City there are contexts in which ahorita (now + diminutive) cannot be interpreted as punctual or as close to the moment of speech. This behavior is investigated as a consequence of a semantic attenuation process, under the hypothesis of change in apparent time. Thereby, the speech of three generations of speakers from Mexico City was analyzed, and it was found that ahorita has spread to contexts incompatible with the features of punctuality and closeness to the moment of speech among younger speakers, displacing ahora (now) in certain cases.

Keywords : temporal deixis; diminutives; semantic change; apparent time; sociolinguistics.

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