Journal of Historical Pragmatics - Volume 23, Issue 2, 2022

Abstract

Follow-ups are elliptical interrogative forms typically constituting an utterance in their own right. They are used to signal attention to the interlocutor, to encourage them to continue or as a reply to a call. This paper investigates the invariant follow-up sì? (‘yes?’) in Italian and it argues that it represents a case of pragmatic language change. To this end, it investigates the diachronic distribution, collocation and contexts of usage of sì? in a variety of language sources in relation to plausible, equivalent expressions (i.e., dimmi and dica [‘tell me’]). The analysis will show that since its earliest record of use in films in 1960, the frequency of occurrence of this form has dramatically increased to the point that, today, it is the preferred device. The study will also provide solid evidence of positive correlations between the use of yes? in English language audio-visual products and the use of sì? in scripted and real-use Italian, strongly suggesting that the marker would in fact be a case of pragmatic borrowing from English.

Abstract

When comparing old and new Bible translations, differences are striking at all discourse levels. This paper concentrates on variations in the representation of subjective cognition and reasoning of subjects in the discourse. A corpus-based analysis was conducted that compared the domains of use of causal fragments in Dutch Bible translations that were either old, contemporary and loyal, or “easy”. In a close comparison of Bible translations, differences between domains of use are analysed in more detail. In old translations, the character’s subjective reasoning is clearly separated from the narrator’s utterances. By contrast, in modern translations, causal reasoning is more intertwined between character and narrator, resulting in shared reasoning.

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of the Chinese adverb běnlái and its further development into a stance discourse marker (sdm). Most previous studies consider the epistemic modal adverb běnlái (‘indeed, truly’) to have originated from the temporal adverb běnlái (‘originally’). Based on the framework of constructionalisation (Traugott and Trousdale 2013) and Van de Velde et al.’s (2013) idea of multiple sources, I argue that the temporal adverb might not have been the only source for the modal běnlái to occur. Furthermore, the modal adverb changed into an sdm, thereby signaling the speaker’s subjective evaluation while linking the coherence of the discourse. I argue that the change was enabled by both subjectification and analogisation. The exemplars to which běnlái was by hypothesis analogised include the extant discourse connectives (e.g., kěshì) and the extant commentary pragmatic markers (e.g., kělián and suǒxìng) (Fraser 2009).

Abstract

This paper aims is to analyse the status of selected Polish words: okrutnie (‘cruelly’), strasznie (‘terribly’) and szalenie (‘madly’). These units are traditionally considered to be adverbs, and their formal structure and original meaning indicate derivation from proper adjectives. We presume that adverbs might develop into intensifiers, which are semantically close to bardzo (‘very’). By analysing the linguistic material extracted from chronologically differentiated corpora of Polish (korba, kf19 and nkjp), we want to show how this linguistic process has been evolving over the centuries. Our research examines quantitative and qualitative collocational data of okrutnie, strasznie and szalenie with their categorical value and semantic evaluation (positive, neutral and negative). Our research reveals that the changing of words’ meaning, and their syntactic function, switched from the object language to the metalanguage level, is a feature associated with grammaticalization. We used a statistical chi-square test to verify the probability of word co-occurrence.

Abstract

“Have a good day” and its variant “have a nice day” are among our most common forms of modern leave-taking. Although these expressions may seem modern, they can be traced back to a twelfth century English romance, entitled King Horn, and can also be found in a number of other mediaeval works. Linguists typically treat the expression as token politeness that does not warrant detailed analysis. However, an examination of the mediaeval works containing the expression shows that, from its earliest recording, it appears in unexpected contexts and can carry deeper meaning. Rather than being merely a phatic phrase, the expression has long been used as a meaningful rhetorical device. This diachronic study explores the expression “have a good day” from its earliest occurrence to modern times and shows its potential to move beyond phatic use.

This article reviews Grammaticalization

This article reviews Exploring Intensification: Synchronic, Diachronic and Cross-linguistic Perspectives