Constructional borrowing in indirect language contact situations: from Watergate to Fernándezgate

Borrowing involves the replication of form-meaning associations, including (partially filled) words or phrases, and argument structures that are useful in specific communicative contexts. A large corpus-based analysis of a novel Spanish construction was conducted to demonstrate the borrowability of morphological abstract schemas, even in indirect contact situations. The findings indicate that the English -gate schema has been successfully replicated in Spanish. The identification of numerous formations constructed with Spanish bases provides evidence for the schema’s integration into the constructica of Spanish speakers, who extend it in creative ways, both formally and semantically.