Chapter 14. French type-noun constructions based on genre
-
Wiltrud Mihatsch
Abstract
Colloquial French genre is highly polysemous with a variety of functions such as comparison, approximation and the fully pragmaticalized functions as a mitigator, a quotative marker, an exemplifier, a marker of narrative progression, explanation and focussing. So far, the focus has been on the various discourse functions, however, several studies also point out possible paths of pragmaticalization. The aim of this paper is to analyse in greater detail the construction at the root of all these functions, i.e. “X of the same type as Y”, a construction originally used for construing ad hoc categories. This rather learned construction became established in the 19th century for French and transformed into a backgrounded instruction for sloppy categorization and the other derived colloquial functions listed above.
Abstract
Colloquial French genre is highly polysemous with a variety of functions such as comparison, approximation and the fully pragmaticalized functions as a mitigator, a quotative marker, an exemplifier, a marker of narrative progression, explanation and focussing. So far, the focus has been on the various discourse functions, however, several studies also point out possible paths of pragmaticalization. The aim of this paper is to analyse in greater detail the construction at the root of all these functions, i.e. “X of the same type as Y”, a construction originally used for construing ad hoc categories. This rather learned construction became established in the 19th century for French and transformed into a backgrounded instruction for sloppy categorization and the other derived colloquial functions listed above.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Building categories in interaction 1
- Chapter 2. Ad hoc categorization in linguistic interaction 9
- Chapter 3. Categories at the interface of cognition and action 35
- Chapter 4. Category-building lists between grammar and interaction 73
- Chapter 5. Are new words predictable? 111
- Chapter 6. The Camel Humps prosodic pattern 155
- Chapter 7. Making the implicit explicit 187
- Chapter 8. Online text mapping 211
- Chapter 9. Exemplification in interaction 239
- Chapter 10. The on-line construction of meaning in Mandarin Chinese 271
- Chapter 11. Et cetera, eccetera, etc. The development of a general extender from Latin to Italian 295
- Chapter 12. Morphopragmatics of rhyming and imitative co-compounds in Russian 317
- Chapter 13. Encoding ad hoc categories in Georgian 355
- Chapter 14. French type-noun constructions based on genre 373
- Chapter 15. In a manner of speaking 415
- Chapter 16. Why it’s hard to construct ad hoc number concepts 439
- Index 463
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Building categories in interaction 1
- Chapter 2. Ad hoc categorization in linguistic interaction 9
- Chapter 3. Categories at the interface of cognition and action 35
- Chapter 4. Category-building lists between grammar and interaction 73
- Chapter 5. Are new words predictable? 111
- Chapter 6. The Camel Humps prosodic pattern 155
- Chapter 7. Making the implicit explicit 187
- Chapter 8. Online text mapping 211
- Chapter 9. Exemplification in interaction 239
- Chapter 10. The on-line construction of meaning in Mandarin Chinese 271
- Chapter 11. Et cetera, eccetera, etc. The development of a general extender from Latin to Italian 295
- Chapter 12. Morphopragmatics of rhyming and imitative co-compounds in Russian 317
- Chapter 13. Encoding ad hoc categories in Georgian 355
- Chapter 14. French type-noun constructions based on genre 373
- Chapter 15. In a manner of speaking 415
- Chapter 16. Why it’s hard to construct ad hoc number concepts 439
- Index 463
