Lexical sources in the poetry of Florencio Delgado Gurriarán

Abstract

This paper intends to contribute to the knowledge of the lexical sources of the poetry of Florencio Delgado Gurrriarán (1903-1987). In order to analyse this, it will focus on his four poetry collections: Bebedeira [Drinking Binge] (1934), Galicia infinda [Infinite Galicia] (1963), Cantarenas: Poemas 1934-1980 [Songs: Poems 1934-1980] (1981) and O soño do guieiro [The Guide’s Dream] (1986). Florencio’s poems combine the uniqueness of the variety of Galician spoken in Valdeorras with elements of literary tradition, quintessen-tial and purification traits and also some significant features such as word formation procedures.

Thus, the literary variety of Galician used by the poet is mainly a popular language purged of Spanish terms which resorts to Portuguese in order to express quintessential concepts. It is also characterised by the use of dialectal terms from the Valdeorras region and other bordering areas and by the specific forms of its rural context. It is influenced by the literary tradition of some classic Galician writers and reinforced through the presence of loans from modern European languages and the Nahuatl language spoken in Mexico, in addition to purificatory words and elements. It is also enriched by derivation through suffixation and composition as the main procedures of word formation. Finally, the paper reviews the six lexical sources of his poetic work.