"Àgora" in Minho dialect
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Abstract
This study analyses the metalinguistic negation marker àgora, which is productive in one Portuguese dialect area, the Minho dialect. Starting from the phonetic difference in this dialect between the temporal adverb agora and the negation marker àgora, in this work I present a detailed analysis of negative sentences with àgora. Following Horn (1985, 1989), Martins (2010) and Pereira (2010, 2011), I assume that these constructions convey a particular kind of negation: metalinguistic negation as defined by Horn (1985, 1989). My main goal is to show that syntactically, sentences with àgora in Minho dialect behave differently than in other dialect areas (the southern and central dialects), where metalinguistic negation is expressed by the marker agora. To identify these differences I undertake a comparative analysis and discuss a set of special features of àgora, which contrasts with other dialect areas in that àgora (i) is a pre-verbal marker with first-position requirements, (ii) strongly connects to the notion of ellipsis, (iii) only co-occurs with certain types of constituents, and (iv) has particular interpretative effects which favour discoursive prominence. The empirical basis for this dissertation consists mainly of my intuitions as a native speaker of the Minho dialect, while also analysing input from other speakers to confirm my own judgements when relevant.
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