6533b85bfe1ef96bd12bbcf5

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Fingimientos y atenuación en el uso de "creo"

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The article analyses the development of attenuation functions in different uses of creo in colloquial conversations. This propositional attitude verb, the most polysemic and polyfunctional one in its category, has been traditionally considered an attenuating device because it can be used by speakers to convey distancing from their message. However, the fact that it is a subjectifier in its first person form could be understood as a contradiction with its function being primarily attenuating. This paper explores the semantic and pragmatic values of the different uses of creo in order to determine what triggers attenuation. 215 examples from two conversational corpora, VAL.ES.CO. 2002 and VAL.ES.CO. 2.0, have been analysed. The results suggest that the attenuating function of creo is a consequence of pretending strategies used by the speaker.