10 Salutation and leavetaking formulae in 18th-century varieties of English
-
Christine Elsweiler
Abstract
This chapter explores sociopragmatic variation in two varieties of Late Modern English. In it, we turn to Irish English and Scots/Scottish English in order to investigate to what extent pragmatic differences can be found between data sets from these two varieties and in how far social status plays a role in these pragmatic differences. In order to investigate this question, we analyse and compare salutations and leavetaking formulae in 18th-century Irish and Scottish letters. Results show that the respective social status of letter-writers and addressees plays a crucial role in the choice of formulae, and that the interaction between letter-writers of similar social status shows more variation and, as developments between the early and later data suggest, is more likely to introduce pragmatic change. By contrast, formulae in writing across status levels remain more conservative. While the respective social status can be shown to play a crucial role, no clear variety-specific, non-socially conditioned cross-variety differences can be observed in the data. Thus, our current data set presents no evidence for variety-specific Late Modern English pragmatics in epistolary salutation and leavetaking formulae.
Abstract
This chapter explores sociopragmatic variation in two varieties of Late Modern English. In it, we turn to Irish English and Scots/Scottish English in order to investigate to what extent pragmatic differences can be found between data sets from these two varieties and in how far social status plays a role in these pragmatic differences. In order to investigate this question, we analyse and compare salutations and leavetaking formulae in 18th-century Irish and Scottish letters. Results show that the respective social status of letter-writers and addressees plays a crucial role in the choice of formulae, and that the interaction between letter-writers of similar social status shows more variation and, as developments between the early and later data suggest, is more likely to introduce pragmatic change. By contrast, formulae in writing across status levels remain more conservative. While the respective social status can be shown to play a crucial role, no clear variety-specific, non-socially conditioned cross-variety differences can be observed in the data. Thus, our current data set presents no evidence for variety-specific Late Modern English pragmatics in epistolary salutation and leavetaking formulae.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 An introduction to sociopragmatic variation 1
-
Part 1: Investigating sociolinguistic variables
- 2 The sociopragmatics of now in corpora of Irish English and Scottish English 11
- 3 Lookit – the story of a pragmatic marker in Irish English 31
- 4 ‘Er, yeah, no, bummer’: An exploration of the ‘new’ discourse pragmatic marker Yeah, No in contemporary Irish English fiction 45
- 5 New speakers of Irish English: Pragmatic and sociophonetic perspectives 69
- 6 Pragmatic markers in Ulster Irish and Irish English 87
- 7 Boring much? Semantic determinants of constructional attraction in Irish English 107
-
Part 2: Metapragmatic structures: Identities, styles, and media
- 8 ‘Oh wait and I tell you . . .’: Narratives, pragmatics, and style in ICE-Ireland 133
- 9 Irish identities in a fictional TV series: Mediatised performance of Derry English in Derry Girls 155
- 10 Salutation and leavetaking formulae in 18th-century varieties of English 173
- 11 Automatically detecting directives with SPICE Ireland 205
- 12 Concluding remarks and future directions in studies on sociopragmatic variation 235
- Index 241
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 An introduction to sociopragmatic variation 1
-
Part 1: Investigating sociolinguistic variables
- 2 The sociopragmatics of now in corpora of Irish English and Scottish English 11
- 3 Lookit – the story of a pragmatic marker in Irish English 31
- 4 ‘Er, yeah, no, bummer’: An exploration of the ‘new’ discourse pragmatic marker Yeah, No in contemporary Irish English fiction 45
- 5 New speakers of Irish English: Pragmatic and sociophonetic perspectives 69
- 6 Pragmatic markers in Ulster Irish and Irish English 87
- 7 Boring much? Semantic determinants of constructional attraction in Irish English 107
-
Part 2: Metapragmatic structures: Identities, styles, and media
- 8 ‘Oh wait and I tell you . . .’: Narratives, pragmatics, and style in ICE-Ireland 133
- 9 Irish identities in a fictional TV series: Mediatised performance of Derry English in Derry Girls 155
- 10 Salutation and leavetaking formulae in 18th-century varieties of English 173
- 11 Automatically detecting directives with SPICE Ireland 205
- 12 Concluding remarks and future directions in studies on sociopragmatic variation 235
- Index 241
