Ahé in medieval spanish and its narrative functionalization in the Cantar de mio Cid

Abstract

The present article offers an analysis of the narrative uses of (a)hé in the Cantar de Mio Cid. The argument will be made that the peculiar syntactic construction headed by this deictic element constitutes an important linguistic resource within the narrative discourse. On the one hand, its semantic and pragmatic properties are exploited by the medieval narrator as a way to catch and direct the audience’s attention and to highlight sudden or surprising events (mirativity). On the other hand, it is used as a macro-textual structuring device marking important points within the narrative.