A look at u and onde in the Cantigas de Santa María: a quantitative work

Abstract

The linguistic variability of the adverbs u and onde is one of the most overlooked yet intriguing differences of Galician-Portuguese. I set out to analyze quantitatively the uses of both adverbs, concentrating on the orthographic variation as well as the semantic variation. My analysis has its base in one of the largest collections of lyrical compositions of the Middle Ages, As Cantigas de Santa María, proving that the specific uses of u and onde that were documented at this time in Galician-Portuguese were still marked by the original Latinate variants.

Keywords

• Galician-Portuguese
• medieval poetry; Cantigas; adverb; locative
• medieval poetry
• cantigas
• adverb
• locative