ENGLISH

The Evolution of Pragmatic Markers in English: Pathways of Change

By Laurel J. Brinton

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2017
ISBN
1107129052, 9781107129054
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (3190118 bytes)
Pages
xiv+332\347
Topic
Linguistics\\Linguistics
Time added
2018-05-22 18:52:05
Language & Grammar;Reference;NewLinguistics;WordsUsed & Rental Textbooks;Business & Finance;Communi

Description

Based on a rich set of historical data, this book traces the development of pragmatic markers in English, from hw't in Old English and whilom in Middle English to whatever and I'm just saying in present-day English. Laurel J. Brinton carefully maps the syntactic origins and development of these forms, and critically examines postulated unilineal pathways, such as from adverb to conjunction to discourse marker, or from main clause to parenthetical. The book sets case studies within a larger examination of the development of pragmatic markers as instances of grammaticalization or pragmaticalization. The characteristics of pragmatic markers - as primarily oral, syntactically optional, sentence-external, grammatically indeterminate elements - are revised in the context of scholarship on pragmatic markers over the last thirty or more years.

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