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Case, discourse structure, and (inter)subjectivity: A discourse approach to case of Finnish copula complement adjectives

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Published/Copyright: March 29, 2018
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Abstract

This article presents a discourse approach to the case variation between the nominative and the partitive in Finnish copula complement adjectives. Using video recordings of spontaneous spoken Finnish, I show that the case marking of these adjectives reflects the discourse functions of demonstratives, which constitute the vast majority of copula subjects in the material. I also demonstrate that aspects of stance-taking in interaction are of relevance for the distribution of case in this construction. Based on the results of the present study, as well as on previous discussion in the literature, I analyse Finnish copulative constructions with partitive and nominative adjectives in terms of conversational patterns of subjectivity and intersubjectivity.

Appendix

A Transcription conventions

.

falling intonation

,

even intonation

?

rising intonation

higher pitch

tää

(underscore) emphasis

[ ]

speech overlap

(.)

micropause shorter than 0.2 second

(0.4)

pause in tenths of seconds

=

no interval between two pieces of talk

><

faster speech

<>

slower speech

:

prior syllable prolonged

°

decreased volume

(mitä sä)

assumed wording

e-

truncated word

(-)

unintelligible word

(–)

longer unintelligible part of talk

´

vowel deletion

.hhh

inhalation

hhh.

exhalation

(h)

explosive aspiration, e.g. laughter or breathlessness

£

uttered on a smile

@

altered voice quality

%

glottal stop

#

creaky voice

((laughter))

researcher’s comments on the situation

line relevant for discussion

B Glossing abbreviations

1

first person

2

second person

3

third person

a

agent

abl

ablative

ade

adessive

all

allative

cl

clitic

cmp

comparative

cng

connegative

comp

complementiser

conj

conjunction

cond

conditional

cop

copula

cvb

converb

dem

demonstrative

ela

elative

ess

essive

gen

genitive

ill

illative

imp

imperative

ine

inessive

inf

infinitive

neg

negation

nom

nominative

pap

past active participle

pass

passive

pl

plural

ppp

past passive participle

pr

proper name

prs

present

pst

past

ptc

particle

ptv

partitive

q

question

sg

singular

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Received: 2016-4-27
Revised: 2016-10-14
Revised: 2017-5-5
Accepted: 2017-8-3
Published Online: 2018-3-29
Published in Print: 2018-3-26

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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