Distance and enunciation: variation in singular self-reference (1st, 2nd and 3rd person) in Hugo Chávez's discourse

Abstract

In this article, we offer an analysis of intra-speaking morphosyntactic variation in the first, second and third singular person as self-reference forms in a corpus composed of journalistic interviews made to Hugo Chávez (Venezuela). This research problem was approached from linguistic variation perspective and based on the theoretical-methodological postulates of Columbia Linguistic School theory. Likewise, we have used contributions from the polyphonic theory of enunciation. On this occasion, we analyze four parameters related to the enunciative dimension: a) the type of speech (referred vs. not referred), b) the source of referred speech (speaker vs. other), c) the type of referred speech (direct / indirect) and d) the role played by the speaker in referred statement (addressee / non-addressee ). The results indicate that the four factors influence on the relative frequency of the forms studied. We conclude that alternation in the use of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd forms is not by chance, but it responds to the communicative needs of the speaker to explain different ways of self-introduction in speech and to position oneself regarding the self versions that circulate around him.