Whales, Candlelight, and Stuff Like That: General Extenders in English Discourse

ISBN-13: 9780195125740 / Angielski / Twarda / 2000 / 184 str.

Maryann Overstreet

Opis

This innovative work provides the first comprehensive account of general extenders ("or something," "and stuff," "or whatever"). Combining insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and interactional sociolinguistics, the author demonstrates that these small phrases are not simply vague expressions, but have a powerful role in making interpersonal communication work. The audience for this book includes linguists, scholars of English, teachers of English as a first and a second language, sociolinguists, psycholinguists, and communications researchers.

Recenzje

What is appealing about this analysis is that it appears to finesse an issue that has perplexed other analysts: What exactly is meant by "X or something", and what (semantic and pragmatic) principles govern the understanding and use of such expressions?