The development and pragmatic function of a non-inference marker
-
Laurel J. Brinton
Abstract
That is not to say (that) is an introductory clause refuting an inference that could be drawn from the previous discourse; it often occurs in a negative context (with a positive reading) and is characteristic of written genres, with lowest frequency in fiction. The earliest examples date from the 16th century but the next examples found date from the mid- to late-19th century. The gap in the corpus data may be explained by the predominantly fiction/drama make-up of available corpora. The development of that is not to say (that) is not an entirely prototypical case of grammaticalization as certain parameters (loss of that, contracted forms) are inconclusive and there are no ‘lexical’ uses of the form and hence no ‘divergence’.
Abstract
That is not to say (that) is an introductory clause refuting an inference that could be drawn from the previous discourse; it often occurs in a negative context (with a positive reading) and is characteristic of written genres, with lowest frequency in fiction. The earliest examples date from the 16th century but the next examples found date from the mid- to late-19th century. The gap in the corpus data may be explained by the predominantly fiction/drama make-up of available corpora. The development of that is not to say (that) is not an entirely prototypical case of grammaticalization as certain parameters (loss of that, contracted forms) are inconclusive and there are no ‘lexical’ uses of the form and hence no ‘divergence’.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Changing society
- The great temptation 3
- Changes in society and language 29
- Finding evidence for a changing society 57
- Semantic neology 79
- From burden to threat 113
-
Part II. Changing language
- That’s absolutely fine 143
- Two sides of the same coin? 169
- So-called - ingly adverbs in Late Middle and Early Modern English 199
- Analyzing change in the American English amplifier system in the fiction genre 223
- The development and pragmatic function of a non-inference marker 251
- Changes in transitivity and reflexive uses of sit ( me / myself down ) in Early and Late Modern English 277
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part I. Changing society
- The great temptation 3
- Changes in society and language 29
- Finding evidence for a changing society 57
- Semantic neology 79
- From burden to threat 113
-
Part II. Changing language
- That’s absolutely fine 143
- Two sides of the same coin? 169
- So-called - ingly adverbs in Late Middle and Early Modern English 199
- Analyzing change in the American English amplifier system in the fiction genre 223
- The development and pragmatic function of a non-inference marker 251
- Changes in transitivity and reflexive uses of sit ( me / myself down ) in Early and Late Modern English 277
- Index 303
