1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Pragmatics
  4. Volume 26, Issue 3
  5. Article
The referential ambiguity of personal pronouns and its pragmatic consequences
  • ISSN 1018-2101
  • E-ISSN: 2406-4238
PDF

Abstract

The Catalan second person singular (2sg) pronoun has acquired a wide range of pragmatic values in spoken registers that have received little or no attention from scholars in the field. The aim of the present article is to analyse a particular emerging use of the 2sg pronoun from a corpus-based perspective. In the light of Grammaticalisation Theory, it is argued that whereas in some contexts this pronoun maintains all or part of its referential function (e.g. as subject or as a vocative, respectively), in other contexts its use is very similar to that of an emphatic pragmatic marker. Data drawn from three spoken corpora suggest that the pronoun has consolidated this new use. Prosodic evidence is also provided to show the semantic and pragmatic changes undergone by the pronoun.

© 2016 International Pragmatics Association
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/prag.26.3.06bla
2016-09-01
2023-09-23

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/prag.26.3.06bla
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aijmer, Karin
    (2002) English Discourse Particles. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. doi: 10.1075/scl.10
     https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.10 [Google Scholar]
  2. (2007) The meaning and functions of the Swedish discourse marker ‘alltså’―evidence from translation corpora. Catalan Journal of Linguistics6: 31-59.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Alturo, Núria , and Marianna Chodorowska-Pilch
    (2009) La gramaticalització de “sisplau”. Els Marges88: 15-37.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Ameka, Felix
    (1992) Interjections: The universal yet neglected part of speech. Journal of Pragmatics18: 101-118. doi: 10.1016/0378‑2166(92)90048‑G
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(92)90048-G [Google Scholar]
  5. Anderson, Stephen. R. , and Edward L. Keenan
    (1985) Deixis. In Timothy Shopen (ed.), Language Typology and Syntactic Description III: Grammatical Categories and the Lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.259-308.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Biq, Yung-O
    (1991) The multiple uses of the second singular pronoun ni in conversational Mandarin. Journal of Pragmatics16: 307-321. doi: 10.1016/0378‑2166(91)90084‑B
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(91)90084-B [Google Scholar]
  7. Bladas, Òscar
    (2012) Conversational routines, formulaic language and subjectification. Journal of Pragmatics44: 929-957. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2012.04.009
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.04.009 [Google Scholar]
  8. Bybee, Joan L. , Revere Perkins , and William Pagliuca
    (1994) The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect, and Modality in the Languages of the World. Chicago/London: Chicago University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Clave (Diccionario Clave. Diccionario de uso del español actual). Fundación Santa María-Ediciones SM. Http://clave.smdiccionarios.com/app.php(accessed13.01.13)
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Cuenca, M. Josep
    (2000) Defining the indefinable? Interjections. Syntaxis3: 29-44.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. (2002/2008) Els connectors textuals i les interjeccions. In Joan Solà, M. Rosa Lloret , Joan Mascaró , and Manuel Pérez Saldanya (dir.), Gramàtica del català contemporani. Barcelona: Empúries, pp.3173-3237.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Cuenca, M. Josep , and Marta Torres
    (2008) Usos de hombre/home y mujer/dona como marcadores del discurso. Verba. Anuario Galego de Filoloxía35: 235-256.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. DEA (Diccionario del español actual)
    . Seco, Manuel, Andrés, Olimpia, and Gabino Ramos (1999), vol. II. 1st ed. Madrid: Santillana Ediciones Generales.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Dostie, Gaétane
    (2004) Pragmaticalisation et marqueurs discursifs. Brussels: De Boeck-Duculot. doi: 10.3917/dbu.dosti.2004.01
     https://doi.org/10.3917/dbu.dosti.2004.01 [Google Scholar]
  15. DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española). Real Academia de la Lengua Española. Http://lema.rae.es/drae/(accessed13.01.13)
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Du Bois, John W
    (1991) Transcription design principles for spoken discourse research. Pragmatics1.1: 71-106. doi: 10.1075/prag.1.1.04boi
     https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.1.1.04boi [Google Scholar]
  17. (1993) Outline of discourse transcription. In Jane A. Edwards , and Martin D. Lampert (ed.), Talking Data: Transcription and Coding in Discourse Research. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp.45-89.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Du Bois, John W. , Stephan Schuetze-Coburn , Susanna Cumming , and Paolino Danae
    (1991) Discourse Transcription. London: Longman.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. DUE (Diccionario de uso del español) Moliner, María (1966) Madrid: Gredos.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Erman, Britt , and Ulla-Britt Kotsinas
    (1993) Pragmaticalization: The case of ‘ba’ and ‘you know’. Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis New Series10: 76-93.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Fraser, Bruce
    (1996) Pragmatic markers. Pragmatics6: 167-190. doi: 10.1075/prag.6.2.03fra
     https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.6.2.03fra [Google Scholar]
  22. (1999) What are discourse markers?Journal of Pragmatics31: 931-952. doi: 10.1016/S0378‑2166(98)00101‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(98)00101-5 [Google Scholar]
  23. (2009a) An account of discourse markers. International Review of Pragmatics1: 293-320. doi: 10.1163/187730909X12538045489818
     https://doi.org/10.1163/187730909X12538045489818 [Google Scholar]
  24. (2009b) Topic orientation markers. Journal of Pragmatics41: 892-898. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2008.08.006
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.08.006 [Google Scholar]
  25. GDLE (Gramática Descriptiva de la Lengua Española) Bosque, Ignacio , and Violeta Demonte (ed.) (1999) Madrid: Espasa Calpe.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Goffman, Erving
    (1981) Forms of talk. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Heine, Bernd , Ulrike Claudi , and Friederike Hünnemeyer
    (1991) Grammaticalization: A Conceptual Framework. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Helmbrecht, Johannes
    (2015) A typology of non-prototypical uses of personal pronouns: Synchrony and diachrony. Journal of Pragmatics88: 176-189. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2014.10.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.10.004 [Google Scholar]
  29. Hopper, Paul J. , and Elizabeth Closs Traugott
    (1993) Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Kitagawa, Chisate , and Adrienne Lehrer
    (1990) Impersonal uses of personal pronouns. Journal of Pragmatics14: 739-759. doi: 10.1016/0378‑2166(90)90004‑W
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(90)90004-W [Google Scholar]
  31. Kuo, Sai-Hua
    (2003) Involvement vs. detachment: Gender differences in the use of personal pronouns in televised sports in Taiwan. Discourse Studies5: 479-494. doi: 10.1177/14614456030054002
     https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456030054002 [Google Scholar]
  32. Kuryłowicz, Jerzy
    (1975 [1965]) The evolution of grammatical categories. In J. Kuryłowicz (ed.), Esquisses linguistiques II. Munich: W. Fink, pp.38-54.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Lehmann, Christian
    (1995 [1982]) Thoughts on Grammaticalization. Munich/Newcastle: Lincom Europa.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Nogué, Neus
    (2005) Dixi de persona i marcs participatius en català. Ph.D. dissertation, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Filologia Catalana. (Available for download at: www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/1680).
     [Google Scholar]
  35. (2008a) La dixi de persona en català. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. (2008b) La dixi de persona en el discurs acadèmic oral en català. Caplletra. Revista Internacional de Filologia44: 195-218.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. (2011) Person deixis in Catalan. In Lluís Payrató , and Josep Maria Cots (eds.), The Pragmatics of Catalan. Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp.115-144.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Norrick, Neal R
    (2009) Interjections as pragmatic markers. Journal of Pragmatics41: 866-891. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2008.08.005
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2008.08.005 [Google Scholar]
  39. Payrató, Lluís
    (2002/2008) L’enunciació i la modalitat oracional. In Joan Solà , M. Rosa Lloret , Joan Mascaró , and Manuel Pérez Saldanya (dir.), Gramàtica del català contemporani. Barcelona: Empúries, pp.1149-1220.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Stirling, Lesley , and Rodney Huddleston
    (2002) Deixis and anaphora. In Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey Pullum (eds.), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.1449-1564.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Traugott, Elizabeth Closs
    (2010) (Inter)subjectivity and (inter)subjectification: A reassessment. In Kristin Davidse , Lieven Vandelanotte , and Hubert Cuyckens (eds.), Subjectification, Intersubjectification and Grammaticalization. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, pp.29-71. doi: 10.1515/9783110226102.1.29
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110226102.1.29 [Google Scholar]
  42. Traugott, Elizabeth Closs , and Richard B. Dasher
    (2002) Regularity in Semantic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Wheeler, Max , Alan Yates , and Nicolau Dols
    (1999) Catalan: A comprehensive grammar. London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Wray, Alison
    (2002) Formulaic Language and the Lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511519772
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511519772 [Google Scholar]
  45. Yan, Yi , and Anna Siewierska
    (2011) Referential impersonal constructions in Mandarin. In Andrej Malchucov , and Anna Siewierska (eds.), Impersonal Constructions. A cross-linguistic perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp.547-580. doi: 10.1075/slcs.124.19yan
     https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.124.19yan [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/prag.26.3.06bla
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Grammaticalisation; Person deixis; Pragmatic markers; Spoken corpora

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error