On English turn out and Spanish resultar mirative constructions. A case of ongoing grammaticalization?

Abstract

This article focuses on the diachronic development of English turn out and Spanish resultar ‘turn out’ mirative constructions. Having undergone processes of semantic generalization over time, both verbs express evidential and, most prominently, mirative nuances in the present-day languages. This study explores the mechanisms that condition the evolution of turn out and resultar from their original meanings as lexical resultative and change-of-state verbs towards their eventual subjectification and grammaticalization as predicates conveying evidential and mirative senses. The present-day mirative constructions take that- and infinitival complement clauses in both languages. The analysis suggested here shows that both verbs exhibit diverging, though closely related, paths and degrees of grammaticalization. Moreover, this study delves into the further development of these predicates as parenthetical expressions. While English parenthetical turns out has already been grammaticalized, Spanish resulta may be on its way to becoming a grammaticalized parenthetical.