Functions of Language - Online First

This study develops the Gesture-Pragmatic Corpus of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers (G-PCCKT) using ELAN to investigate teachers’ gesture-pragmatic functions. The corpus construction involves transcribing speech, annotating multifunctional gestures through a custom Functional Annotation Scheme based on an Integrated Functional Categorization of Gesture, and coding three pragmatic aspects: demonstratives, illocutionary forces, and question-initiated sequences. As a reliable tool for data retrieval and analysis, the G-PCCKT enables multifaceted investigation into the pragmatic functions of gestures used by Chinese kindergarten teachers, including: (i) clarifying deictic references, (ii) reinforcing illocutionary force, and (iii) facilitating question formulation and sequence organization. Preliminary results indicate that: (i) teachers’ gesture use varies with different types of demonstratives to aid children’s comprehension; (ii) gestures previously regarded as “meaningless” reveal performative significance when examined in pragmatic context; and (iii) gestures support teachers in managing classroom pacing by smoothly transitioning between question-initiated sequences.

The process of anticausativization is well known in the functional and typological literature as involving a morphological affix on the head, i.e. the verb. In this article, we introduce to the field a different type of anticausatives which are dependent-marked and not head-marked. That is, the subject of the intransitive carries the same morphological case, namely accusative, as the object of the corresponding transitive, while the verb remains unmarked in both alternants. This research is based on 119 causative–anticausative pairs of this type in Old Norse-Icelandic, of which 80 are presented in the literature for the first time. Since the head, the verb, is morphologically unmarked, the question arises as to the directionality of the alternation. We argue that the causative alternant is the basic one, while the intransitive anticausative is ‘derived’, due to both morphological and semantic considerations, in particular the fact that many accusative anticausatives have developed metaphorical meanings. We couch our analysis in the formalism of CxG, showing how changes in the productivity of the alternation may be modeled. While the data discussed here are mostly confined to Old Norse-Icelandic, the distinction between head-marking and dependent-marking anticausativization is clearly of relevance for general linguists, functionalists and typologists alike.

Representing a comedic genre where language, identity, ideology are performed and negotiated through discursive strategies, stand-up comedy provides a socially revealing site for studying humour as a discourse practice. This study focuses on the phenomenon of English as bilingual creativity in Chinese stand-up comedy performances, exploring how it operates as a speech style in the Chinese context. Drawing upon theoretical insights from sociolinguistics, discourse pragmatics and humour studies, this paper examines how the use of English serves as a resource for audience engagement and humour construction in Chinese stand-up comedy discourse. The study identifies linguistic mechanisms and discursive strategies of bilingual creativity featured in the Chinese context. Linguistically, the practice of bilingual creativity includes intra-/inter-sentential code mixing and three types of English usage: unmarked, marked, and referential. These various uses of English perform two major discursive functions: they may function as direct punchlines or discursive mockery to entertain the audience, or they can alternatively deliver judgmental or appreciative comments to align with the audience. Finally, this paper discusses social issues associated with bilingual creativity, such as language style, emotionality, and multicultural identity branding in contemporary Chinese cultural discourse.