Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in Lo Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu) - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Accéder directement au contenu
Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2010

Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in Lo Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu)

Résumé

Despite the wealth of subordinators in Hiw and Lo Toga (Oceanic, north Vanuatu), two of their Tense Aspect Mood categories – the Subjunctive and the Background Perfect – can do without them, and encode clause dependency by themselves. A pragmatic hypothesis is proposed to account for this clause linking faculty. The Subjunctive differs from other irrealis categories insofar as it lacks any specific illocutionary force; the Background Perfect labels its predicate as informationally backgrounded. In both cases, the clause lacks certain key properties (illocutionary force; informational weight) which are normally required in pragmatically well formed utterances. This pragmatic demotion makes the clause dependent on external predications, which naturally results in syntactic subordination. This case study illustrates how syntax can be reshaped by the pragmatic parameters of discourse.
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Dates et versions

halshs-01422311 , version 1 (24-12-2016)

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Citer

Alexandre François. Pragmatic demotion and clause dependency: On two atypical subordinating strategies in Lo Toga and Hiw (Torres, Vanuatu). Isabelle Bril. Clause hierarchy and Clause linking: The Syntax and Pragmatics interface, John Benjamins, pp.499 - 548, 2010, 9789027205889. ⟨10.1075/slcs.121.16fra⟩. ⟨halshs-01422311⟩
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