Doctoral Degrees (General Linguistics)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (General Linguistics) by Author "Gauche, Ana Maria"

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    A relevance-theoretic analysis of selected South African English pragmatic markers and their cultural significance
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Gauche, Ana Maria; Huddlestone, Kate; Stellenbosch Universtiy. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines the development and contemporary functions of three pragmatic markers (PMs), shame, hey and is it, common in South African English (SAfE). The analyses of these PMs were undertaken using the combined approaches of Grammaticalisation theory and Relevance theory. Each marker was found to manifest pragmatic meanings and functions that are atypical of its use in other English varieties. The development of these meanings and functions are explained as resulting from historical and linguistic factors that are unique to South Africa. Firstly, shame is shown to have broadly-developed pragmatic functions that are not only inoffensive but appreciative to the hearer; a distinct softening compared to its traditional sense. This meaningful change is attributed to both its widespread use as hyperbole and a functional and pragmatic association with specific Afrikaans items. Tokens from the SAfE data suggest an extrasentential occurrence on par with that of sentential adverbs and exclamatives. Secondly, tag hey, a linguistic item that has long been used in English in general, demonstrates atypical functions in SAfE. Although it is similar to tags eh and huh used in other varieties of English, it is argued that tag hey has functionally developed from its associations with specific Afrikaans and English lexical items. To this end, tag hey functions in attitudinal ways that are identifiable to SAfE speakers. Finally, the non-paradigmatic, invariant follow-up is it is argued to have developed from an association with the similarly functioning and sounding Afrikaans expression, is dit. Invariant follow-up is it is used where a variety of similarly constructed canonical responses (e.g., were they, could you) would be expected and demonstrates pragmatic functions unique to SAfE. It is furthermore argued that the PMs shame, hey and is it have resulted from contact-induced grammaticalisation, having developed in South Africa’s high-contact, multi-cultural environment in which English continues to serve as a lingua franca. Several historical factors are shown to have created conditions in which linguistic influences from English and Afrikaans have contributed towards the development of these PMs. Pragmatic strengthening, proceduralisation and obligatorification are the most apparent changes in the development of these PMs, resulting from (inter)subjectivity and leading to functions that trigger higher-level explicatures. During their development, each PM has gone through a stage in which it assisted in navigating toward inferential understanding of a communicative event, thereby benefitting interlocutors during intercultural interactions. In their contemporary use, each PM demonstrates manifest social identity and signals solidarity within the context of SAfE.