Parameters for typological variation of placeholders
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Vera I. Podlesskaya
Abstract
The paper focuses on a type of discourse marker that signals production difficulties in spontaneous spoken discourse. Hesitation markers of this type, conventionally termed placeholders, mainly have a pronominal origin and serve as a preparatory substitute for a delayed constituent. Based on first-hand data of spoken Russian and Armenian, as well as on earlier reported data (on Samoyedic, Tungusic, Austronesian, East Caucasian languages, inter alia), a set of parameters for typological variation of placeholders across languages is suggested, including possible types of syntactic constituents for which placeholders may substitute and constraints on morphological marking placeholders can replicate. Placeholders are placed among other lexical and grammatical resources that allow the speaker to refer to objects and events for which the speaker fails to retrieve the exact name, or simply finds the exact name to be unnecessary or inappropriate. Keywords: speech disfluency; placeholder; typology; Russian; Armenian
Abstract
The paper focuses on a type of discourse marker that signals production difficulties in spontaneous spoken discourse. Hesitation markers of this type, conventionally termed placeholders, mainly have a pronominal origin and serve as a preparatory substitute for a delayed constituent. Based on first-hand data of spoken Russian and Armenian, as well as on earlier reported data (on Samoyedic, Tungusic, Austronesian, East Caucasian languages, inter alia), a set of parameters for typological variation of placeholders across languages is suggested, including possible types of syntactic constituents for which placeholders may substitute and constraints on morphological marking placeholders can replicate. Placeholders are placed among other lexical and grammatical resources that allow the speaker to refer to objects and events for which the speaker fails to retrieve the exact name, or simply finds the exact name to be unnecessary or inappropriate. Keywords: speech disfluency; placeholder; typology; Russian; Armenian
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Parameters for typological variation of placeholders 11
- A cross-linguistic exploration of demonstratives in interaction 33
- Placeholder verbs in Modern Georgian 67
- From interrogatives to placeholders in Udi and Agul spontaneous narratives 95
- Fillers and placeholders in Nahavaq 119
- The interactional profile of a placeholder 139
- Fillers and their relevance in describing Sliammon Salish 173
- Pauses, fillers, placeholders and formulaicity in Alzheimer’s discourse 189
- Language index 217
- Name index 219
- Subject index 221
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- Parameters for typological variation of placeholders 11
- A cross-linguistic exploration of demonstratives in interaction 33
- Placeholder verbs in Modern Georgian 67
- From interrogatives to placeholders in Udi and Agul spontaneous narratives 95
- Fillers and placeholders in Nahavaq 119
- The interactional profile of a placeholder 139
- Fillers and their relevance in describing Sliammon Salish 173
- Pauses, fillers, placeholders and formulaicity in Alzheimer’s discourse 189
- Language index 217
- Name index 219
- Subject index 221
