' And so now …': The grammaticalisation and (inter)subjectification of now
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Tine Defour
Abstract
In addition to its primary temporal meaning, the adverb now displays a variety of pragmatic meanings in present-day English. Now serves as a means to structure topic changes or to emphasise different steps in an argumentation, providing “a temporal index for the world within the utterance” (Schiffrin 1987: 245). On an interpersonal level, the marker can introduce a subjective opinion, often placing the speaker’s view in disalignment with that of others. With the recognition of interpersonal differences, now also offers the hearer a chance to be involved in the suggested discourse frame. Diachronically, semantically bleached meanings of now are attested as early as the Old English period (Aijmer 2002). This paper aims to further examine various stages in the marker’s semanticpragmatic development, with specific attention for the influence of underlying hypotheses of grammaticalisation – implying semantic bleaching and pragmatic strengthening – and processes of (inter)subjectification, through which historical language change develops meanings that focus increasingly on speaker and addressee (Traugott 1999). The material for this paper is taken from three historical corpora containing speech-based data, i.e. the diachronic part of theHelsinki Corpus of English Texts (HC), the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (Sampler) (CEECS), and the Corpus of English Dialogues (CED).
Abstract
In addition to its primary temporal meaning, the adverb now displays a variety of pragmatic meanings in present-day English. Now serves as a means to structure topic changes or to emphasise different steps in an argumentation, providing “a temporal index for the world within the utterance” (Schiffrin 1987: 245). On an interpersonal level, the marker can introduce a subjective opinion, often placing the speaker’s view in disalignment with that of others. With the recognition of interpersonal differences, now also offers the hearer a chance to be involved in the suggested discourse frame. Diachronically, semantically bleached meanings of now are attested as early as the Old English period (Aijmer 2002). This paper aims to further examine various stages in the marker’s semanticpragmatic development, with specific attention for the influence of underlying hypotheses of grammaticalisation – implying semantic bleaching and pragmatic strengthening – and processes of (inter)subjectification, through which historical language change develops meanings that focus increasingly on speaker and addressee (Traugott 1999). The material for this paper is taken from three historical corpora containing speech-based data, i.e. the diachronic part of theHelsinki Corpus of English Texts (HC), the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (Sampler) (CEECS), and the Corpus of English Dialogues (CED).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Exploring the dynamics of linguistic variation through public and private corpora 1
-
Part I. Creating discourse
- Introduction 13
- ' And so now …': The grammaticalisation and (inter)subjectification of now 17
- Self-repetition in spoken English discourse 37
- Modal adverbs in interaction – obviously and definitely in adolescent speech 61
- Pressing -ing into service: I don't want you coming around here any more 85
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Part II. Moving across varieties
- Introduction 101
- Conversations from the speech community: Exploring language variation in synchronic dialect corpora 107
- The English modals and semi-modals: Regional and stylistic variation 129
- Patterns of negation: The relationship between NO and NOT in regional varieties of English 147
- Verb-complementational profiles across varieties of English: Comparing verb classes in Indian English and British English 163
- Angloversals? Concord and interrogatives in contact varieties of English 183
- South Pacific Englishes – Unity and diversity in the usage of the present perfect 203
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Part III. Levelling out variability
- Introduction 223
- Feature loss in 19th century Irish English 229
- The written wor(l)ds of men and women in early white Australia 245
- The progressive and phrasal verbs: Evidence of colloquialization in nineteenth-century English? 269
- Probabilistic determinants of genitive variation in spoken and written English: A multivariate comparison across time, space, and genres 291
- Her daughter's being taken into care or her daughter being taken …? Genitive and common-case marking of subjects of verbal gerund clauses in Present-day English 311
- Subject index 335
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Exploring the dynamics of linguistic variation through public and private corpora 1
-
Part I. Creating discourse
- Introduction 13
- ' And so now …': The grammaticalisation and (inter)subjectification of now 17
- Self-repetition in spoken English discourse 37
- Modal adverbs in interaction – obviously and definitely in adolescent speech 61
- Pressing -ing into service: I don't want you coming around here any more 85
-
Part II. Moving across varieties
- Introduction 101
- Conversations from the speech community: Exploring language variation in synchronic dialect corpora 107
- The English modals and semi-modals: Regional and stylistic variation 129
- Patterns of negation: The relationship between NO and NOT in regional varieties of English 147
- Verb-complementational profiles across varieties of English: Comparing verb classes in Indian English and British English 163
- Angloversals? Concord and interrogatives in contact varieties of English 183
- South Pacific Englishes – Unity and diversity in the usage of the present perfect 203
-
Part III. Levelling out variability
- Introduction 223
- Feature loss in 19th century Irish English 229
- The written wor(l)ds of men and women in early white Australia 245
- The progressive and phrasal verbs: Evidence of colloquialization in nineteenth-century English? 269
- Probabilistic determinants of genitive variation in spoken and written English: A multivariate comparison across time, space, and genres 291
- Her daughter's being taken into care or her daughter being taken …? Genitive and common-case marking of subjects of verbal gerund clauses in Present-day English 311
- Subject index 335
