The diachrony of Galician certamente and seguramente: A case of grammatical constructionalization

Abstract

This paper addresses the evolution of two Galician adverbs, certamente and seguramente. Data from three different periods show that they had similar manner, modal and discourse functions in the Middle Ages, as opposed to their distinct functional profiles in more recent days. The theoretical analysis is based on Traugott and Trousdale’s (2013) framework, and shows that several instances of grammatical constructionalization occurred since the emergence of -mente adverbs out of a Latin instrumental construction until the appearance of (inter)subjective markers. The current study also reveals that certamente has become a strengthener and, to a lesser extent, a certainty marker, whereas seguramente expresses probability. The semantic evolution of the adverbs, from manner, through strengthening, to epistemic modality, is in contradiction with the unidirectionality of (inter)subjectification, whereas the loss of intersubjective functions in seguramente is a case of deintersubjectification. Previous research shows that this is a recurrent pattern for epistemic and evidential expressions.