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Exceptive constructions in Huasteca Nahuatl: On the interaction of syntax and discourse in language use.

  • Published In: Studies in Language, 2026, v. 50, n. 1. P. 206 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Olguín Martínez, Jesús 3 of 3

Abstract

The paper explores exceptive constructions (e.g., all my family went to the wedding except Mark) in Huasteca Nahuatl (Uto-Aztecan). It is shown that connected and free exceptives have developed intriguing discourse-pragmatic functions that have not been identified by previous studies. While connected exceptives (e.g., everyone except Pedro went to the meeting) indicate a surprising situation, free exceptives (e.g., everyone went to the meeting except Peter) signal a non-surprising situation. It is argued that exceptive markers play an important role in the expression of these functions and it is demonstrated that the order of the exceptive phrase with respect to its associate and its relation to surprising and non-surprising situations can be explained by a syntactic iconic mechanism: the principle of adjacency. It is shown that Huasteca Nahuatl borrowed exceptive markers from Mexican Spanish. However, the discourse-pragmatic functions of exceptive constructions are an internally motivated development in Huasteca Nahuatl that cannot be attributed to Mexican Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Studies in Language. 2026/01, Vol. 50, Issue 1, p206
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Language and Linguistics
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:0378-4177
  • DOI:10.1075/sl.25009.olg
  • Accession Number:191272040
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Studies in Language is the property of John Benjamins Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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