Periphrastic constructions in the Castilian of the bilingual indigenous Ashaninka-Castilian of the central jungle of Peru

Abstract

The different periphrastic constructions of the Spanish spoken by bilingual indigenous ashaninka from the central rainforest area is described and analyzed. The more frequent use of periphrastic forms of the Spanish spoken by women compared to men is characterized, as well as the larger productivity of verbal periphrasis in people with low level of instruction. It is important to mention that the periphrastic construction of the Spanish spoken by people with elementary instruction is rather limited in terms of variety and complexity. Their productivity and frequency is focused on the forms ‘go + prep (ø) + infinitive’ or ‘verb to be + gerund’.