THE DISCOURSE MARKER ESTE…IN THE PRESEEA CORPUS:

FUNCTION AND VARIATION

Abstract

This article examines the pragmatic function and dialectal and social variation of the discourse marker este in different Spanish-speaking communities. Our work falls within the field of variation where pragmatics, dialectology, and sociolinguistics converge. The general aim of the study is to describe the use of este as a filler discourse marker in different varieties of Spanish, both in Spain and Latin America, using the available sample from the PRESEEA corpus. Our specific aim are: a) to analyze the pragmatic function of este as a retarding marker in the sample, and b) to determine the distribution of the use of este across dialectal varieties and social factors included in PRESEEA.