Introduction. Variation, choice, and the construction of meaning

Abstract

The scientific study of linguistic variation has evolved from traditional models based on synonymy and correlational analysis to a conception of communicative choice as the construction of meaning in context. This has been made possible by the introduction of social constructivist approaches to language as a resource for the development of identities, as well as of functional and cognitive models whereby linguistic form is seen as undetachable from function. At the current stage of research, style appears as the fundamental concept on which a theory of variation should be built. Style does not merely concern the association of linguistic forms with social and situational factors, but also the potential to construct meaning at all possible semiotic levels. In this sense, one of the most relevant functions of variable grammatical choices is the establishment of discourse viewpoint, shaping a continuum between subjectivity and objectivity along which cognitive-communicative styles can be placed. The analysis of desubjectivizing choices including initiator-defocusing constructions, as well as that of grammatical features related to modality, are currently among the most promising paths for research along these lines.