Diachronic pragmatics : seven case studies in English illocutionary development / Leslie K. Arnovick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arnovick, Leslie K., 1957-

Series:

Pragmatics & beyond ; new ser. 68.

Pragmatics & beyond, 0922-842X ; new ser. 68

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Discourse analysis.

English language.

English language--Grammar, Historical.

English language--Spoken English.

Speech acts (Linguistics).

Pragmatics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub., 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The purpose of Diachronic Pragmatics is to exemplify historical pragmatics in its twofold sense of constituting both a subject matter and a methodology. This book demonstrates how diachronic pragmatics, with its complementary diachronic function-to-form mapping and diachronic form-to-function mapping, can be used to trace pragmatic developments within the English language. Through a set of case studies it explores the evolution of such speech acts as promises, curses, blessings, and greetings and such speech events as flyting and sounding. Collectively these "illocutionary biographies" manifest the workings of several important pragmatic processes and trends: increased epistemicity, subjectification, and discursization (a special kind of pragmaticalization). It also establishes the centrality of cultural traditions in diachronic reconstruction, examining various de-institutionalizations of extra-linguistic context and their affect on speech act performance. Taken together, the case studies presented in Diachronic Pragmatics highlight the complex interactions of formal, semantic, and pragmatic processes over time. Illustrating the possibilities of historical pragmatic pursuit, this book stands as an invitation to further research in a new and important discipline.

Contents:

DIACHRONIC PRAGMATICS

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of contents

Chapter 1. English Illocutionary History: A Methodological Introduction

Chapter 2. Flyting and Sounding the Agonistic Insult

Chapter 3. Rationalist Prescriptions for Shall and Will

Chapter 4. The Expanding Discourse of the English Promise

Chapter 5. Subjectification in the Common Curse

Chapter 6. Good-bye: The Pragmatic Reanalysis of the Close

Chapter 7. It's Nothing to be Sneezed At: Discursization in the Polite Bless You!

Chapter 8. Extra-Linguistic Contexts for Illocutionary Change

Notes

References

Index

PRAGMATICS AND BEYOND NEW SERIES.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-181) and index.

ISBN:

9786612163227

9781282163225

1282163221

9789027299024

9027299021

OCLC:

70766232