40 Jahre Partikelforschung/40 Years of Particle Research Bern, 11.-13. Februar 2009 Abstract |
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Regina Blass (Nairobi): Particles indicating interpretive resemblance In this paper I would like to show that some languages exploit interpretive resemblance as introduced by Sperber and Wilson 1986, 1995 and Wilson 2000 to such a degree that one can speak about a resemblance strategy that is at work in such a language. It is a cognitive means to facilitate the interpretation of diverse language phenomena. In 1990 Blass introduced an interpretive use particle re in Sissala (a Niger Congo, Gur Language) that occurred in hearsay and constructions with propositional attitude, questions and their answers, and echoic use such as in irony. The idea is that the particle indicates that an utterance, proposition or thought interpretively resembles another utterance proposition or thought. This resemblance is defined in terms of logical or/and contextual implications and can be manifested to a higher or lesser degree. Later similar markers were found in such a different language as Japanese (e.g. dakara Matsui 2002). The German and English marker so were also identified as indicating interpretive resemblance (Blass 2003). In view of the great variety of the uses the term ‘resemblance marker’ seemed to be more appropriate, which replaced then the term ‘interpretive use marker’. This paper focuses especially on German and African (Niger Congo) languages that seem to make use of interpretive resemblance as a processing aid in a somehow similar way. Data from Budu with the marker gu, a Bantu language spoken in DR Congo and from Swahili and Kikuyu with the marker ati and Luya with the marker ndi or kandi, all spoken in Kenya, will show that in addition to what has been found in Sissala, the particles replace conclusion markers such as so and therefore, confirmatory markers such as after all, indeed, even parallel markers such as also and even, additives in addition to, again, and logical operators such as and, or, if..then and the negative. It can further occur in comparatives and in discourse as indicating reformulation, exemplification, elaboration, evaluation and can be a replacement for text as in an ellipsis. It has further been used to adjust or replace lexical meaning. In all these occurrences it can be shown that the communicator uses the notion of interpretive resemblance as a help in interpretation. What is interesting is that German and to some degree English show a number of the above usages in African languages, especially with the particle so. Besides giving a unified account of quite diverse linguistic phenomena with this analysis which is in line with Occam’s razor these phenomena also give insight into cognitive processing itself. It seems that exploiting resemblance interpretively as a help in processing seems to be a more common means to facilitate processing and save processing effort in the interpretation of utterances than hitherto thought. Particles are the means to indicate that such processing is made use of. References:
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