| The grammaticalization of perfects along the path from resultative to perfective has been much researched (Harris 1982, Bybee et al. 1994); however, debate continues about the inclusion of Stage II (continuative perfects) and how extension to perfective contexts occurs (Squartini and Bertinetto 1995, 2000). In some varieties of contemporary Peninsular Spanish, the Present Perfect (PP) competes with the Preterit for use in perfective contexts, and now exhibits advanced grammaticalization as it is well established in Hodiernal temporal reference (Schwenter 1994b, Serrano 1994). Furthermore, comparision of variation patterns in Peninsular and Mexican Spanish suggests that indeterminate temporal reference (perfective, but not temporally specified) is the context most susceptible to further perfective grammaticalization (Schwenter and Tones Cacoullos 2008). This study examines PP grammaticalization from a diachronic, variationist perspective. PP and Preterit data from three different centuries (15 th, 17th, and 19th) are drawn from dramatic texts in order to define the contexts of use for the two competing forms and the linguistic factors that constrained the variation.;It is concluded that the non-specified temporal reference contexts play a special role in the PP's grammaticalization: the Irrelevant PP function helps to solidify the event focus of the "hot news" perfect, while the Indeterminate function relaxes the restrictions of current relevance by strengthening the PP's association with perfectivity.;In the 15th century, the PP is characterized as a resultative/emerging perfect. At this early stage, in Immediately Preceding temporal reference contexts the PP has developed a "hot news" function, while extension to Irrelevant and Indeterminate temporal reference contexts is concentrated in semantic classes associated with resultative use. In the 17th century, the PP truly becomes established as a perfect, extending to all semantic verb classes in Irrelevant temporal reference contexts, with an accompanying rise in frequency relative to the Preterit. The PP also extends its use in Indeterminate contexts, and those contexts are selected as favorable in the Variable Rule Analysis for the 17th century. In the 19 th century, Hodiernal contexts favor selection of the PP as the form continues its extension into perfective and temporally specified contexts. |
