Abstract EN:

This study deals with the French connecting word "or" and its Spanish equivalents (pero, ahora bien, puies bien, sin embargo, no obstante, y eso que, es asi que), in a perspective which combines pragmatical and logical aspects of the question, and which aims at conciliating "new linguistics" and tradition (data from dictionaries and grammar books). As far as pragmatics is concerned our leading methodology is drawn from o. Ducrot's works and the conversational theories as defined by the Geneva school. This study also relies on the mathematician and logician J-B Grize's works, in order to compare formal (mathematical) logic and a certain natural logic which is present in speech. This study consists in three parts: first an introduction to the theoretical apparatus, and then the study of the French connecting word "or". The study of its Spanish equivalents constitutes the third part, and as a conclusion a balance is proposed. Is it possible to give a single description of the French connecting word "or"? Which are the equivalents for it in the Spanish language? How far does the equivalence relationship go? In other words, does the Spanish language follow the same steps in thinking process as the French on does? All these are the questions the present study tries to answer.