Journal of Uralic Linguistics - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2024

This issue focuses on a little-studied aspect of (inter)subjectivity (S/ IS) in language: the expression of S/ IS in different registers. In the introduction, we overview the background and approach, describe the central registers in connection with using S/ IS devices, and correlate the choice and frequency of S/ IS devices with the situative features of registers. The introduction also includes a brief overview of the articles in the issue.

We have studied three groups of S/ IS devices: (1) pragmatic particles, (2) CTP markers based on complement-taking predicates, and (3) modal verbs. Our central data comes from the Estonian Pragmatic Corpus. We look mainly at the expression of S/ IS in seven registers, broadly divided into three groups: spoken, online, and printed texts.

The papers on the issue deal with the use and development of different particles in registers of Estonian and the use of S/ IS differences between registers to develop metrics for distinguishing registers.

The article analyzes the frequency of downtoners and intensifiers in seven Estonian registers based on data from the Estonian Pragmatics Corpus. These particles are most common in instant messaging, followed by institutional interaction, everyday conversation, online comments, printed fiction, media, and academic prose. The analysis revealed that previously offered situational features that increase frequencies (orality, spontaneity, dialogicity, everydayness and involved production) correlate only with frequencies of downtoners in comments, fiction and media. The frequency of downtoners in instant messaging is significantly higher than in spoken dialogues, and the use of all particles in academic prose is significantly lower than expected. We propose hypotheses to explain those anomalies. Ten especially frequent particles were identified: six downtoners and four intensifiers. Those particles account for 15% of all downtoners/intensifiers and account for 76% of particle use, with their proportion varying across registers from 87% in everyday conversation to 43% in academic prose.

The article examines the use of two Estonian pragmatic particles, tõesti ‘really’ and tõepoolest ‘indeed, truly’, in everyday conversations, online news comments and academic prose. The data is drawn from the Estonian Pragmatic Corpus. The material analyzed reveals that the main function of both particles in the different registers is to confirm and emphasize some statement, fact, general knowledge, etc., either in the previous text or in the current utterance or sentence. Both particles can add an element of surprise or bewilderment to the sentence or utterance. The use of tõepoolest is associated with higher degrees of formality, whereas tõesti, being a relatively frequent particle, can occur in both formal and informal texts.

The goal of the paper is to examine the use of the particle üldse ‘at all; ever; generally; absolutely (not)’ in questions in Estonian everyday face-to-face and telephone conversations. The analysis is based on the methodological framework of interactional linguistics.

The particle üldse is found to serve three central functions in questions: (a) marking topic shifts and topic changes, (b) intensifying doubt or challenges, (c) emphasizing someone’s norm-violating behavior. Questions containing the particle üldse can be divided into two groups: neutral information-seeking questions and multifunctional questions that perform several social actions simultaneously. The particle üldse is commonly backward looking and serves both interpersonal and textual functions. Its use is often associated with non-preference, disagreement, or contradiction.

In this article, we examine diachronically the use of two central and frequent epistemic particles, vist ‘perhaps, probably’ and kindlasti ‘definitely, certainly’, in written texts in Estonian from the 16th century to the present day. Currently, these particles convey various degrees of the speaker’s epistemic assessment: vist expresses uncertainty regarding the truthfulness of the information conveyed, while kindlasti indicates high certainty. The meaning of vist has diminished in terms of certainty to become an uncertainty marker. The meaning of the particle kindlasti has stayed the same over time, but a downtoning function has developed. Thus, we observe a weakening of epistemic functions for both particles over time within the framework of pragmaticalisation. We highlight a regularity where, during the pragmaticalisation of particles within the domain of probability, a unidirectional functional-semantic shift occurs in the chain of certainty > assumption > uncertainty.

The study explores the potential of utilizing particle use data to differentiate between seven Estonian registers: everyday conversation, institutional interaction, printed media (newspapers), prose fiction, academic prose, instant messaging, and internet comments. The objective is to develop a simple yet effective model that enables researchers to comprehend the internal logic behind register differentiation based on particle use. Particles are considered promising differentiators due to their independence from text content.

The article outlines the chosen method, the model creation, and the testing process. A key finding reveals that hierarchical relationships between particles within registers prove more reliable indicators than general use frequencies. The method involves establishing correspondences between particle pairs and register pairs, facilitating the measurement of distances between registers. During testing, the model demonstrates high accuracy across registers, encountering some difficulties in categorizing fiction and institutional interaction. Overall, the study confirms the efficacy of the proposed method in distinguishing registers based on particle use, underscoring the significance of particles in linguistic analysis.