From a usage-based approach, this dissertation explores the relationship between structural variability and discourse subjectivity in a series of interviews from the "New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish Survey" (Bills and Vigil 2008). Focusing on the use of cognitive and speech verbs, the analysis will demonstrate that a) structural…

Analyzes instances of syllabic consonants in New Mexico Spanish as the interaction of universal aspects of vocalic feature geometry, discussing a dialect-specific characteristic which allows resonants to absorb the feature (vocalic) when the remaining features of a vowel have been reassigned to neighboring segments, and, equipped both with a mora…

New conclusions emerge about Southern Tiwa, a Tanoan language of New Mexico, from a morphoyntactic analysis of the language, including nouns occur as serial predicates; nouns can license an argument in the role of possessor; and the verb agrees with all and only final terms. (47 references) (JL)