COMMON KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE EVIDENTIALITY: SOCIOPRAGMATIC PATTENS OF SPEECH IN MADRID

Abstract

This paper sets out the results of sociopragmatic research into common knowledge or folklore evidentiality in the speech of Madrid, Spain's norm-radiating capital. Its working assumptions are that the expression of evidentiality in Spanish is strategic and constitutes, above all, a resource for mitigating; and that, as with other pragmatic phenomena, the use and functioning of the popular knowledge evidentiality varies sociolinguistically and geolectally. In order to ascertain the functional performance of this type of evidence and patterns of sociolectal and geolectal variation, its occurrence has been studied in a corpus of semi-directed oral interviews with Madrilenians, the PRESEEA-Madrid corpus. A common methodology, as established by Cestero and Kotwica (en prensaa, en prensab), was employed, which aims at systematic and homogeneous qualitative and quantitative analyses. The preliminary findings confirm that it is a strategic sociopragmatic resource seldom used in Madrid. When it is used, it is mostly to mitigate and to distance oneself from what has been said. Men use it more than women, adults more than young and old people, and subjects with mid-level education more than those with higher or basic education. However, higher rates are found among specific sociolects, which enables their future to be predicted.