The English Discourse Particle ‘oh’ in Spanish Translations: Evidence from a Parallel Corpus

This paper explores the translations of the English discourse particle oh into Spanish. Discourse particles are particularly problematic in translation because of their multi-functionality, their high degree of grammaticalization, and their strong culture-bound character. The interjection oh is one frequent discourse marker in English spoken discourse, conveying text-organising and interpersonal functions. This study will focus on the translations of oh in the 2.5 million-word English-Spanish parallel corpus PACTRES. The aim is to provide an inventory of translation solutions in Spanish for the various functions of oh in English texts.