15.2484, Diss: Discourse Analysis: Keevallik: 'From...'

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-15-2484. Wed Sep 8 2004. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 15.2484, Diss: Discourse Analysis: Keevallik: 'From...'

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1)
Date:  Wed, 8 Sep 2004 06:10:57 -0400 (EDT)
From:  Leelo.Keevallik at moderna.uu.se
Subject:  From Interaction to Grammar: Estonian Finite Verb Forms in Conversation

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Wed, 8 Sep 2004 06:10:57 -0400 (EDT)
From:  Leelo.Keevallik at moderna.uu.se
Subject:  From Interaction to Grammar: Estonian Finite Verb Forms in Conversation

Institution: Uppsala University
Program: Department of Finno-Ugric Languages
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2003

Author: Leelo Keevallik

Dissertation Title: From Interaction to Grammar: Estonian Finite Verb
Forms in Conversation

Linguistic Field: Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Semantics,
Text/Corpus Linguistics

Subject Language: Estonian (code: EST)

Dissertation Director 1: Raimo Raag
Dissertation Director 2: Bengt Nordberg

Dissertation Abstract:

This study contributes to the research tradition of interactional
linguistics. It demonstrates how interaction and sequences of actions
are, or emerge as, part of the syntagmatic structure of a language,
and why the transitions from interaction to grammar as well as from
content to function items, are to be regarded as gradual and
continuous. Grammar may arise from discourse through frequent
implementation of linguistic items in specific social actions that are
carried out in certain sequential positions in conversation. The
developments proposed for the items in this study, bear numerous
similarities to the processes of grammaticalization.

The data consists of 319 authentic phone calls, recorded in Estonia in
1997/98. All in all, more than 10 hours of talk has been examined,
about two thirds of which consist of everyday calls between family
members and friends. The rest are telemarketing calls from a newspaper
publishing office.

This is a predominantly qualitative study of 11 finite verb forms in
Estonian that display features of development into pragmatic particles
or adverbs. It is argued that in order to adequately account for how
finite verb forms such as kuule 'hear!', ma ei tea 'I don't know',
tähendab '(it) means', or oota 'wait!' come to be used as particles,
it is necessary to look closely at what kinds of actions they
frequently implement in the everyday life of the speakers. It is
shown, for example, that the jussive form olgu 'be' implements
conversational closings, and that tead 'you know' projects news
deliveries and enhances interpersonal involvement. It is also shown
that some of the items, such as ütleme 'let's say' rather belong to
the formal registers. Methodologically, the study applies conversation
analysis with its detailed examination of pieces of recordings and
respect to details contingent on each individual action sequence. The
idea of gradual semantic change has been borrowed from
grammaticalization theory. In addition, the arguments are supported by
counts from the current corpus.

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