The Influence of Socio-Functional Factors and the Role of Discursive Traditions in the Grammaticalization of the Construction Vossa Mercê

Abstract

The present study analyzes quantitatively and qualitatively the uses of the construction Vossa Mercê in medieval and classical Portuguese documentation in order to investigate, in light of the theoretical principles of Functional Linguistics, which syntactic-semantic, discursive, and socio-pragmatic factors influenced the grammaticalization process of this construction. The results indicate that Vossa Mercê as a noun phrase was more common in older texts, while its occurrences as a form of address increased from the second half of the 15th century onwards. The analysis of recurring structures with Vossa Mercê in medieval chronicles reveals that the king’s capacity to grant favors (mercês), i.e., royal prerogatives, became metonymically intertwined with the figure of the king himself. Thus, starting as a discursive strategy to ensure politeness in requests addressed to the king, Vossa Mercê began to be used as a direct reference to him and later to any addressee of lesser power. The findings also confirm that the noun phrase Vossa Mercê may have been introduced into medieval and classical chronicles under the influence of an older Latin discursive tradition, initially embedded in epistolary documentation, as proposed by Koch (2008).