New Book "South Slavic Discourse Particles"

South Slavic Discourse Particles

Edited by Mirjana N. Dedaić and Mirjana Mišković-Luković

Georgetown University / University of Kragujevac

Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 197

2010. ix, 166 pp.
Publishing status: Available

Hardbound – In stock
978 90 272 5601 0 / EUR 95.00 / USD 143.00

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978 90 272 8812 7 / EUR 95.00 / USD 143.00
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Discourse particles, discourse markers and pragmatic markers refer to phenomena that linguists have begun to probe only since the mid-1980s. Long-ignored in traditional linguistics and textbook grammars, and still relegated to marginal status in South Slavic, these linguistic phenomena have emerged as invaluable devices for cutting-edge theories of the semantics/pragmatics interface. This book, which is a pioneering study in such linguistic phenomena in South Slavic languages, is also among the first of its kind for a related group of languages. It builds on the recent findings of some of the most influential linguistically-oriented theories, such as Relevance Theory, Argumentation Theory and coherence-based approaches to explain the meaning and use of certain discourse/pragmatic particles/markers in Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Slovene. These particles/markers are part of the contemporary and historical lexicons of the South Slavic languages, varying across regions and time, but also differing in origin. This book, which draws from naturally occurring data, written media and constructed examples, aims at a wider audience including scholars working in semantics/pragmatics and Slavic languages, and applied specialists interested in this area of research. The authors hope that this book will be conceived as a starting point for a structured inquiry into the flourishing field of discourse particles in South Slavic.

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Table of contents

Preface	vii–viii
Acknowledgement and dedication	ix
1. South Slavic discourse particles: Introduction Mirjana Mišković-Luković and Mirjana N. Dedaić	1–22
2. Ama, a Bulgarian adversative connective Grace E. Fielder	23–44
3. Kamo, an attitudinal pragmatic marker of Macedonian Alexandre Sévigny	45–63
4. Markers of conceptual adjustment: Serbian baš and kao Mirjana Mišković-Luković	65–89
5. The Bosnian discourse particle ono Aida Premilovac	91–108
6. Reformulating and concluding: The pragmatics of the Croatian discourse marker dakle Mirjana N. Dedaić	109–131
7. Pa, a modifier of connectives: An argumentative analysis Igor Ž. Žagar	133–162
Note on contributors	163–164
Index	165–166

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“The collection of studies in South Slavic discourse particles based on authoritative data is not only a very valuable contribution to Slavic Linguistics but also to the field of particle analysis and pragmatics as a whole. If it is true that discourse particles are procedural in nature guiding the interpretation process then it can be expected that markers with similar procedural functions will be found in diverse languages of the world.
Moreover, by choosing mainly two pragmatic models, the Relevance Theory of Sperber and Wilson and Ducrot and Anscrombre’s Theory of Argumentation and Topoi, the authors pay attention to various aspects of particle analysis (cognitive, communicative and argumentative) in a very successful way. It becomes more and more apparent that a single aspect for the analysis of particles and a single scope of application only covers part of the communicator’s intention of the communicator. In fact the authors have shown that not only the scope of utterance but also the level of discourse is indeed important to recognise in particle analysis. This collection provides also insight into the historical development of the particles from conceptual phenomena to procedural particles in a remarkable way. Moreover, every paper pays attention to clarity, detail and richness of data display. This is a work no linguist interested in discourse particles and pragmatics should ignore.”
Regina Blass, Professor of Linguistics and Translation Studies, Africa International University (AIU)

“The articles in this collection represent path-breaking studies in Slavic linguistics and in pragmatics. South Slavic discourse particles are arguably the most intractable elements for both analysis and translation, and the studies in this volume greatly advance our understanding of these vital phenomena.”
Victor Friedman, Andrew W. Mellon Professor, Slavic Languages and Literatures,University of Chicago

“A most interesting volume which – by offering in-depth analyses of discourse particles from a group of languages that so far have hardly been studied from this point of view – constitutes a very welcome contribution to current knowledge of the role that such particles play in communication.”
Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen, Professor of French Language and Linguistics, The University of Manchester

“This well-conceived and highly informative volume should be of particular interest to specialists in both discourse analysis and Slavic linguistics. Many readers will also benefit from the short survey of the sociolinguistic situation of the South Slavic languages which the book includes.”
Ranko Bugarski, Professor of English and General Linguistics, University of Belgrade

“This is a fascinating collection of studies about current spoken usage in each of the modern South Slavic languages. The level of theoretical discussion is sophisticated, yet all of the articles are accessible to anyone interested in language. Non-specialists will be particularly intrigued to see the ways in which these small but ubiquitous particles form a systematic part of the speech code of Bulgarians, Macedonians, Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.”
Professor Ronelle Alexander, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of California, Berkeley

“The South Slavic languages haven't always commanded the attention from linguists in general that they deserve. Moreover, discourse elements constitute a neglected topic within these languages. This well-conceived collection of interesting studies therefore enriches at once these two important areas of scholarly concern.”
Brian D. Joseph, Distinguished University Professor of Linguistics, and The Kenneth E. Naylor Professor of South Slavic Linguistics, The Ohio State University

“The studies in this volume provide fruitful extensions to our knowledge on the numerous functions of discourse particles with respect to text, discourse, argumentation and cognitive context. The volume thus contributes to our understanding of the challenges for theory development in the field.”
Kerstin Fischer, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark