Modulation as a Procedural Constraint : A Relevance-theoretic Account of After All and Datte

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  • Otsu Takahiro
    Faculty of Languages and Cultures, Kyushu University : Associate Professor

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Abstract

This paper proposes a relevance-theoretic procedural account of discourse connectives after all and datte — commonly recognized as the Japanese counterpart of after all. Relevance Theory has been consistently viewing after all as encoding a procedural constraint of confirming an existing assumption. This is based on the framework that the procedure it encodes is activated in dichotomous or two-term representations, consisting of conclusion and evidence. Similarly, the datte-clause has been generally claimed to connect the preceding clause with a justificatory relation. In contrast, this paper aims to claim after all and datte contribute to the modulation of two assumptions, i.e. the speaker's and the addressee's, and place them as a modulation marker in the relevance-theoretic framework. This view will also demonstrate that the procedure of modulation illuminates the little investigated puzzle that a single linguistic expression occurs in different contexts.

Journal

  • 言語文化論究

    言語文化論究 33 1-18, 2014-10-14

    Faculty of Languages and Cultures, Kyushu University

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