Sociopragmatic variation in attention focus: 'mira', 'fíjate', and 'oye' in San Juan and Mexico City

Abstract

Discourse markers of attention focus (enfocadores de alteridad in Spanish) frequently serve the purposes of drawing the hearer’s attention to what the speaker is saying, either to establish or maintain contact between the two interlocutors.  The current study aims to determine whether the choice of appellative marker is socially or grammatically motivated.  Using sociolinguistic corpora from two major Latin American cities, the study will analyze the variation among the markers.  More specifically, are there extenuating factors that influence whether a speaker elects to use mira, fíjate or oye to focus the attention of the hearer?  The study finds that the choice between markers in San Juan and Mexico City is conditioned by different markers in each locale and, additionally, hints that the style of discourse may have an effect on the prevalence of these markers in general.