On the evolution of Afro-Bolivian Spanish subject-verb agreement: Variation and Change

This paper analyzes subject-verb agreement variation in Afro-Bolivian Spanish (ABS), evaluating the interaction of social and linguistic factors. Qualitative descriptions of the phenomenon (Lipski 2009) seem to indicate a case of ``change in progress'', consisting in the systematic substitution of stigmatized basilectal Afro-Bolivian features with more prestigious Highland Bolivian Spanish (HBS) ones. My quantitative analysis shows that the phenomenon is significantly affected by different social factors: speaker's Age (Range 62), and Education (Range 24); as well as, by linguistic ones: Verbal Tense (Range .29) and Subject Person/Number (Range .18). The study highlights an on-going process of post-bozal Spanish approximation to a more prestigious variety. Findings strongly indicate that although this change is prompted by social factors, it follows clear lines within the acquisitional path of Spanish subject-verb agreement suggested for L1 (Radford and Ploennig-Pacheco 1995) and L2 learners (Hawkins 2001).