SUBJECTIVE PATHS IN TIME AND SPACE WITH ‘HASTA’

Abstract

Spanish prepositions have been a wide topic of discussion in the field of linguistics (Trujillo, 1971; Fernández,1991; Galán Rodríguez, 1992; Jolly, 1993; Bosque, 1996; Horno Chéliz, 2002; Cuadros, 2005; Rodrígues, 2009). This work focuses on the directional preposition ‘hasta’ (until) which is associated with a trajectory function. Therefore, it is intimately related to space. Besides encoding spatial limits, hasta can also encode temporal limits. (Caravedo, 2011; Gutiérrez Ordoñez, 1997; Lope Blanch, 2008; Moliner, 1998; RAE, 2001; Seco, 1998). In both cases, ‘hasta’ depicts the limit of a trajectory either in time or in space. However, there are cases where it is possible to obtain additional meanings as in the so-called anomalous use  widely documented in Mexican Spanish (Lope Blanch, 2008), in which hasta  appears with a punctual verb in an affirmative sentence and a temporary complement (‘llegó hasta las 11’).  It is also possible to find examples in which ‘hasta’ appears with a stative verb with spatial complements (‘vivo hasta el sexto piso’). Using data extracted form an oral corpus of Mexican Spanish, we propose an analysis based in subjectivity that allows to explain all these extensions.