Notes on the Functions of "Acaso," "Quiza(s)" and "Tal Vez" in American Spanish

'Quizi(s),' 'Tal vez': Free Variants? (Hispania, 55 [May, 1972], 320-27) examined in detail the distribution and function of the three Spanish equivalents to English 'perhaps. He demonstrated that acaso, especially in Spanish America, is rarely followed the subjunctive, and that it frequently appears in rhetorical questions where it has the meaning by chance. The data indicated that quiza(s) is followed more frequently the subjunctive than the indicative; but the subjunctive is largely confined to sentences with future time reference. The article stated that tal vez, the most frequent adverb of possibility in American Spanish, governs subjunctive more often that indicative. This analysis, part of a broader study, suggested to me a pilot survey of acaso, quizd(s) and tal vez which might point out trends to be researched in a comprehensive, computer-assisted project. My sample consists of twentieth-century Spanish American works, geographically distributed throughout the area, and including all genres. The sample includes ten novels, 15 dramas, ten essays and seven issues each of three different newspapers. See the list of works consulted at the end of this study.) I determined for each adverb and for the entire sample the percentage of subjunctive vs. indicative constructions and of present-reference vs. past. I also calculated the percentage represented each tense in the entire sample and for each adverb. I then broke down the re

Philosophy · Psychology · Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies

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