Corpus-based semantic functions of "be + v-ing" and "estar + G": differences and similarities of use

• Autores: Marlén Izquierdo Fernández
• Localización: A survey of corpus-based research [Recurso electrónico] / Pascual Cantos Gómez (ed. lit.), Aquilino Sánchez Pérez (ed. lit.), 2009, ISBN 978-84-692-2198-3, págs. 443-452
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The use of corpora in contrastive linguistics is a must if linguistic contrast is to be approached from a functional, descriptive perspective. Contrastive functional analysis (CFA) is concerned with how two different languages are used to communicate the same meaning, whose realization is contrasted for differences and similarities. This paper observes the meanings conveyed by "Be + V-ing" and "Estar + G" in English and Spanish respectively. These two resources are assumed to share certain degree of linguistic correspondence, due to the fact that, grammatically speaking, the constituents of either resource correspond to each other. The present study seeks to determine whether they hold this relation in terms of the meanings they convey. In order to do this, I have carried out a corpus-based cfa following Krzeszowski's method proposal. The insights derived from the study reveal how equivalent these two resources are and sheds light on their degree of translatability.