Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French
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Kate Beeching
Abstract
The multifunctional nature of discourse-marking bon (well) is well-attested in the literature (Auchlin, 1981; Winther, 1985, Hansen, 1998a and b, Jayez, 2004). Its adverbial and interjective uses can, according to Hansen (1998a), be related to its canonical adjectival use (as in ‘C’est bon’ ‘It’s good’), its discourse-marking and hedging uses being more peripheral extensions of this.Beeching (2007c) charts the remarkable increase in rates of bon usage in both real and apparent time from 1968–2002. The present paper establishes the extent to which bon is pragmaticalizing by investigating its sociosituational variation and distributional frequency in the Corpus de Référence du Français Parlé. The rise in frequency of the compound expressions mais bon and parce que bon suggests a shift towards increased intersubjectivity.
Abstract
The multifunctional nature of discourse-marking bon (well) is well-attested in the literature (Auchlin, 1981; Winther, 1985, Hansen, 1998a and b, Jayez, 2004). Its adverbial and interjective uses can, according to Hansen (1998a), be related to its canonical adjectival use (as in ‘C’est bon’ ‘It’s good’), its discourse-marking and hedging uses being more peripheral extensions of this.Beeching (2007c) charts the remarkable increase in rates of bon usage in both real and apparent time from 1968–2002. The present paper establishes the extent to which bon is pragmaticalizing by investigating its sociosituational variation and distributional frequency in the Corpus de Référence du Français Parlé. The rise in frequency of the compound expressions mais bon and parce que bon suggests a shift towards increased intersubjectivity.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
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Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
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Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
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Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
-
Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
-
Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
