Estás burdas de loco y trabajas burda. Un "nuevo" cuantificador en el español de Venezuela

Abstract

This work focuses on the description of burda (de), a Venezuelan Spanish locution with a quantifier and intensifier value close to ‘muy, en cantidad, demasiado’. The first purpose is to check its adjectival and adverbial status, as well as the word categories it usually introduces. The results show that the most frequent structures are burda de + A (burda de dulce) and burda de + N (burda de esfuerzo), preceded by the verbs ser, tener and estar. To a lesser extent, the structure burda de introduces time, place and manner adverbs (burda de mal). Moreover, the construction burda (‘mucho’) is used as a verbal (se tardan burda) and adjectival intensifier, similar to ‘muy’ but placed after the adjective instead (pana burda). Afterwards, an attempt is made to decipher its origin and grammaticalization process. Having verified that its use is not restricted to youth- speak, this work concludes that burda (de) is a belonging marker, in other words, a vernacular trait which would contribute in shaping the “national” identity of the speaker.