![Arrernte -
itanye and
-iknge
-Itanye may simply register surprise about the other person’s behaviour.
Mwarre-ng-itanye re picture impe-ke.
gOOd-ABL-ITANYE 3sgA ITlOvie leave-PC
'Despite the fact that it was good, he left the movie.’ [How could he?]
Where the prevailing condition is widely recognized as something which
should constrain behaviour, highlighting this condition with -itcinye
implies strong criticism. The prevailing condition in the sentence
below is that ‘there were iperte (holes) there’. Given this, people would
not think that something like the reported action could happen.
Iperte-k-itanye, mweteke hole-DAT-iTANYE car iperte-ke kwerren-ke
hole-DAT insert-pc ( arerte-l-arteke ) . mad-ERG-SEMBL
‘Even though (he knew) there were holes around, he went ahead and
drove into a hole.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/discourseparticlesandinterjections-210704150445/85/Discourse-particles-and-interjections-13-320.jpg)
Discourse particles and interjections
- 2. The Discourse Marker Well Schiffrin (1987: 127) claims that well can be used ‘whenever the coherence options offered by one component of talk differ from those of another’. Jucker (1993) says that well acts as a ‘signpost’ that the addressee needs to adjust some of his or her ‘background assumptions’.
- 3. The Discourse Marker Well Aijmer and Simon-Vanderbergen (2003) propose that the general function of well is ‘to turn the utterance into a heteroglossic one, signaling the speaker’s awareness of the heterogeneity of views, positioning the utterance in the context of preceding and following texts’ Despite all the scholarly attention it has received, it is generally agreed that the meaning of well remains elusive. Few researchers have been prepared to advance a first-person paraphrase for the meaning of well, i.e. a formulation of what a speaker is expressing when he or she prefaces an utterance with well.
- 4. The Discourse Marker Well Schourup’s (2001: 1043) idea is that well displays something about the speaker’s mental state in relation to the flow of discourse: specifically, it portrays the speaker as ‘pausing briefly to engage in a moment of real- time consideration before going on’. A: Are you from Philadelphia? B: Well I grew up out in the suburbs. And then I lived for about seven years in upstate New York. And then I came back here t 'go to college. In the example, we can see that B's answer turns out to be rather complex. The message expressed by well in this context makes sense in terms of the speaker’s need to organize his or her thoughts
- 5. The Discourse Marker Well Halliday and Hasan’s (1976: 269) remark that well prefacing an answer means I acknowledge the question and will give a considered answer.’ By signaling this, the speaker also alerts the addressee that he or she may need to prepare for a bit of thought too, in order to assimilate what is to follow. A: Can I just see them? B: Um well. I'm not allowed to do that . Speaker B is obliged to deny the addressee’s request. In this context, the message expressed by well makes sense as an indication to the addressee that B’s reply has been well considered. In this kind of use, well has been described as ‘face-threat mitigator, a way of reducing a potential clash. As Schourup observes, making a show of some ‘consideration’ helps to make the reply seem more reasoned and therefore less personal.
- 6. The Discourse Marker Well The ‘response-prefacing’ use of well is not restricted to responses to questions and requests. It can also be used in response to a statement that has just been made by one’s conversational partner, as in the following examples; A: ‘Sarah, if we were in the slightest danger I ’d have pulled over a long time ago'. B: Oh Well. I don't know that you would have, ' said Sarah. A: Oh', she said. ‘You're not married. ’ B: *Well. I am, but she’s . . . living elsewhere'. A: I think they ’ve got unite a good opinion of him. B: Well er , I have too. As one can glean from the examples so far, the proposed explication can fit into a wide range of contexts, because there are many possible reasons why a speaker might want to signal that he or she is engaging in a little ‘prospective consideration’, before going ahead with the upcoming utterance.
- 7. The Discourse Marker Well Even saying well to introduce a remark which directly conflicts with what the addressee has just said can make sense in terms of the proposed explication, especially when we compare a response with well to other alternatives, such as but. A:...never mind. It’s not important. Bl: But it is important. B2: Well, it is important. The B1 version, with but, directly highlights the contrast between the two views being expressed . The B2 version, with well, seems better- natured and more well-considered , almost as if the speaker were saying, I’m not saying this without having thought about it.’
- 8. The Discourse Marker Well A second discourse context for well is when it occurs not as part of a response to what someone else has said, but inside a single speaker’s ‘turn’. Sometimes it indicates a moment’s thought in the interests of choosing the best word or expression, either for accuracy’s sake or for rhetorical effect, as in the example; The only thing different I think may be with— well in our area, it isn’t because of the school. But the only difference I would think would be maybe the better schools out there.
- 9. The Discourse Marker Well As a number of scholars have pointed out, well is sometimes used in ‘discourse-initial contexts. A teacher standing before a hushed classroom at the opening of a class period, and speaking: Teacher: Well. as you all know, we have a guest speaker with us today.
- 10. Some Discourse Particles in Other Languages In this section we explore a couple of discourse particles in non-European languages, Mpamtwe Arrernte, an Aboriginal language spoken in Central Australia, and Malay (Bahasa Melayu), the national language of Malaysia.
- 11. Arrernte - itanye and -iknge Wilkins (1986) begins his description of the Arrernte clitic particles – itanye and -iknge by pointing out that both are frequently used in making complaints and criticisms. To illustrate, we can consider how someone might react if they are awakened at night by a relative seeking money, an annoying but not uncommon event in the Arrernte community of Alice Springs. Ingew kngerre-le-itanye, iwenhe-ke unte petye-me, night big-LOC- iTANYE, what-DAT 2sgS come-NPP ingkirreke ankw-inte-rlenge?! everyone asleep-lie-DS ‘What have you come here for in the middle of the night, of all times, when everyone’s sleeping?! Note the particle -itanye, glossed as ‘of all times’, which is attached to the first phrase ingew kngerrel ‘in the middle of the night’.
- 12. Arrernte - itanye and -iknge If the unwanted visitor continues to press his request, the exasperated person could say the sentence below. Arrangkwe! Th-iknge mane ngkwenge nthe-me. Ayenge-me banke? nothing lsgA-iKNGE money 2sgDAT give-NPP lsgS-Q FOCUS bank? ‘No way! I’m forever giving you money. What am I, a bank?’ Notice the particle -iknge attached to the word meaning ‘I’ and here glossed as ‘forever’. However, neither -itanye nor -iknge are confined to criticisms or complaints, and in other contexts they seem to generate quite different effects. Although it is associated with a sense of surprise, -itanye does not necessarily imply anything about the speaker’s attitudes. For instance, it is quite at home in a ‘matter-of-fact’ simple declarative like the one below: Lhwerrpe-k-itanye, urinp-irre-me. winter-DAT-lTANYE, hot-INCH-NPP ‘Even though it’s winter, it’s getting hot.’
- 13. Arrernte - itanye and -iknge -Itanye may simply register surprise about the other person’s behaviour. Mwarre-ng-itanye re picture impe-ke. gOOd-ABL-ITANYE 3sgA ITlOvie leave-PC 'Despite the fact that it was good, he left the movie.’ [How could he?] Where the prevailing condition is widely recognized as something which should constrain behaviour, highlighting this condition with -itcinye implies strong criticism. The prevailing condition in the sentence below is that ‘there were iperte (holes) there’. Given this, people would not think that something like the reported action could happen. Iperte-k-itanye, mweteke hole-DAT-iTANYE car iperte-ke kwerren-ke hole-DAT insert-pc ( arerte-l-arteke ) . mad-ERG-SEMBL ‘Even though (he knew) there were holes around, he went ahead and drove into a hole.
- 14. Arrernte - itanye and -iknge -iknge can be appended to the end of any argument of a verb to indicate ‘that the argument so marked is perceived by the speaker to be excessively involved in the verb event in whatever role it is playing and the speaker is saying s/he doesn’t like that’ Depending on the context, and the kind of verb involved, the effect conveyed by -iknge can be akin to complaint, sympathy, or criticism: Complaint a. Re ayeng-iknge twe-me. 3sgA 1SgO-IKNGE hit-NPP ‘He’s forever hitting me.’ Sympathy b. ( Kunye) Re renh-iknge ilte-me. (poor-thing) 3sgA 3sgO-iKNGE scold-NPP (Poor thing.) He’s always getting told off by him.’ Criticism c. R-iknge renhe ilte-me. 3sgA-iKNGE 3sgO scold-NPP ‘He’s always telling him off.’
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