Functions of Language - Volume 5, Issue 2, 1998

This article addresses the usage of "you know" in naturally occurring interactional data from a functional-linguistic and conversationanalytic perspective. We suggest that "you know" is more than a lexical choice made by the speaker to express his/her unilateral communicative desires. It is a locally occasioned, emergent resource that both the speaker and the hearer draw upon to jointly structure information and to structure interaction. Our study differs from previous research in that we emphasize the importance of lexico-grammatical contexts and topical and conversational-sequential environments in which "you know" is used. Specifically, we argue that participants use "you know" to enhance the status of information in terms of saliency, importance, and newness, which in turn structures interactional participation in specific ways.

Modality is a particularly interesting area developmentally, as it is concerned with the child's evaluation of the possibilities and obligations involved in everyday interpersonal encounters. This paper will present the findings of a longitudinal case study of one child's development of modality over a 21 month period, beginning at 2;6 (two years and six months) and extending until 4;3 years. The study analyses the child's use of epistemic and deontic modal auxiliaries, as well as other devices for expressing modality such as projection and modal adjuncts (Perkins 1983, Halliday 1994). Data were recorded in the child's home during spontaneous interactions. The study identifies the origins and functions of modal expressions in early childhood, including the development of interpersonal grammatical metaphor (Halliday 1994), sometimes referred to as conversational functions (Shatz, Wellman and Silber 1983, Bartsch and Wellman 1995). The move from subjective to objective orientations and the use of adjectives and adverbs to convey modal meanings are discussed. The study demonstrates an inextricable link between the content or area of learning (the child's interest in the mental processes of herself and her younger sister) and the modal expressions which provide a vehicle for this learning.

This paper attempts to develop a comprehensive model for the problem of internal vs. external conjunction (Halliday & Hasan 1976). It is first argued that the distinction between internal and external conjunction is not merely a matter of semantics, but that the two types are semiotically significant categories. By postulating that internal and external conjunction are cryptotypically anchored in the speaker-encoding vs. content-related grammar of their main clause, it can be explained why and how syntactic criteria like clefting or nominalization 'react' to the semantic distinction between the two types of conjunction. Secondly, it is argued that the internal category should be subdivided into two grammatically distinct types of conjunction, which are related to the modal and the speech functional grammar of their main clause. Finally, this analysis is used to propose a sharper delineation of the modal and the speech functional subtypes of the internal category.