Context-specific use and ideology: perception of appropriate domains for dar + gerund

Abstract This investigation explores the perception and use of dar ‘give’ + gerund, i.e., dame pasando ‘pass me’, as a request in Ecuadorian Andean Spanish. Previous research has focused on origins and uses of dar + gerund, often classifying it as an attenuated request form that arose, in part, from sustained contact with Ecuadorian Kichwa. This paper demonstrates that a simple definition of politeness insufficiently captures the requester’s complex calculation of social relationship, perceived imposition, indirectness and politeness when making a request with dar + gerund. Furthermore, dar + gerund tends to be perceived as most appropriate in equal social/functional relationships, breaking with previous research that positions more attenuated requests with deference and formality. By examining the perception of appropriate use through an online questionnaire, observations and sociolinguistic interviews, this investigation shows how this dialectal construction encodes a range of social meaning in a particular context.