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8. Speaker stances in native and non-native English conversation: I + verb constructions

  • Nicole Baumgarten and Juliane House
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Receptive Multilingualism
This chapter is in the book Receptive Multilingualism

Abstract

In lingua franca communication the participants operate under the assumption of mutual intelligibility despite the fact that they are often unable to know whether their interlocutors’ variety of English in fact provides the same repertoire of linguistic expression and hence the context to decode utterances in the sense intended by the speaker. The article investigates the expression of speaker stance in English L1 and English as a lingua franca (ELF) discourse, examining in particular the use of I+verb constructionsin order to establish whether EFL (English as a foreign language) speakers’ talk patterns of subjectivity typically differ from those in L1 English discourse. Findings suggest that ELF discourse differs indeed from English L1 discourse in the use of verbtypes, speaker-specific patterns of the expression of stance and speakers’ preference for expressing prototypical rather than grammaticalized and pragmaticalized meanings.

Abstract

In lingua franca communication the participants operate under the assumption of mutual intelligibility despite the fact that they are often unable to know whether their interlocutors’ variety of English in fact provides the same repertoire of linguistic expression and hence the context to decode utterances in the sense intended by the speaker. The article investigates the expression of speaker stance in English L1 and English as a lingua franca (ELF) discourse, examining in particular the use of I+verb constructionsin order to establish whether EFL (English as a foreign language) speakers’ talk patterns of subjectivity typically differ from those in L1 English discourse. Findings suggest that ELF discourse differs indeed from English L1 discourse in the use of verbtypes, speaker-specific patterns of the expression of stance and speakers’ preference for expressing prototypical rather than grammaticalized and pragmaticalized meanings.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. About the authors ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part 1 Historical development of receptive multilingualism
  6. 1. Receptive multilingualism in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages: A description of a scenario 25
  7. 2. Linguistic diversity in Habsburg Austria as a model for modern European language policy 49
  8. Part 2 Receptive multilingualism in discourse
  9. 3. Receptive multilingualism in Dutch–German intercultural team cooperation 73
  10. 4. Receptive multilingualism and inter-Scandinavian semicommunication 103
  11. 5. Receptive multilingualism in Switzerland and the case of Biel/Bienne 137
  12. 6. The Swiss model of plurilingual communication 159
  13. 7. Receptive multilingualism in business discourses 179
  14. 8. Speaker stances in native and non-native English conversation: I + verb constructions 195
  15. Part 3 Testing mutual understanding in receptive multilingual communication
  16. 9. Understanding differences in inter-Scandinavian language understanding 217
  17. 10. Scandinavian intercomprehension today 231
  18. Part 4 Determining the possibilities of reading comprehension in related languages
  19. 11. Interlingual text comprehension: Linguistic and extralinguistic determinants 249
  20. 12. Processing levels in foreign-language reading 265
  21. 13. A computer-based exploration of the lexical possibilities of intercomprehension: Finding German cognates of Dutch words 285
  22. 14. How can DaFnE and EuroComGerm contribute to the concept of receptive multilingualism? Theoretical and practical considerations 307
  23. Name index 323
  24. Subject index 326
https://doi.org/10.1075/hsm.6.12bau

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. About the authors ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part 1 Historical development of receptive multilingualism
  6. 1. Receptive multilingualism in Northern Europe in the Middle Ages: A description of a scenario 25
  7. 2. Linguistic diversity in Habsburg Austria as a model for modern European language policy 49
  8. Part 2 Receptive multilingualism in discourse
  9. 3. Receptive multilingualism in Dutch–German intercultural team cooperation 73
  10. 4. Receptive multilingualism and inter-Scandinavian semicommunication 103
  11. 5. Receptive multilingualism in Switzerland and the case of Biel/Bienne 137
  12. 6. The Swiss model of plurilingual communication 159
  13. 7. Receptive multilingualism in business discourses 179
  14. 8. Speaker stances in native and non-native English conversation: I + verb constructions 195
  15. Part 3 Testing mutual understanding in receptive multilingual communication
  16. 9. Understanding differences in inter-Scandinavian language understanding 217
  17. 10. Scandinavian intercomprehension today 231
  18. Part 4 Determining the possibilities of reading comprehension in related languages
  19. 11. Interlingual text comprehension: Linguistic and extralinguistic determinants 249
  20. 12. Processing levels in foreign-language reading 265
  21. 13. A computer-based exploration of the lexical possibilities of intercomprehension: Finding German cognates of Dutch words 285
  22. 14. How can DaFnE and EuroComGerm contribute to the concept of receptive multilingualism? Theoretical and practical considerations 307
  23. Name index 323
  24. Subject index 326
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