[Lingtyp] Extended uses of terms of address/vocatives

[Anna Margetts]

Hello Andrea,

A related phenomenon is found in the extended uses of first and second
person pronouns for drawing attention to important information in discourse
(e.g. in Kɔnni, Dogrib, Homeric Greek, Goemai) and in ‘narrative
imperatives’ (e.g. in Arabic, North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic, Slavic and Balkan
languages). In the attached paper I describe this for Saliba-Logea, an
Oceanic language of Papua New Guinea, and also provide references for the
languages mentioned above.

Regards,

Anna



Margetts, Anna. 2015. Person shift at narrative peak. Language, Volume 91,
Number 4, pp. 755-805





Abstract

Narrators like to highlight important events in their story. In some
languages, they may shift to first or second person pronouns to refer to
third person referents in order to do so. Such pronoun shifts show
functional parallels with tense shifts like the historical present, as both
highlight events through shifts in deictic categories. Longacre (1983:
138-39) discusses the parallels between person and tense shifts in his
account of narrative peak, i.e. the formal marking of important narrative
events. Labov (1972) analyses similar strategies as internal
evaluations. Person
shifts constitute a phenomenon of the discourse-syntax interface and
present a clear case of discourse structure influencing grammar. Both
person shifts themselves and their motivation in narrative structure have
been little investigated. The paper reviews person shifts in a number of
languages reported in the literature and analyses in detail the
characteristics of this discourse strategy in Saliba-Logea, an Oceanic
language of Papua New Guinea. The study contributes to the growing body of
research on pronouns and person markers, and of referring expressions more
generally, by adding a new angle of investigation. Previous studies tend to
focus on the morpho-syntactic choices of referring expressions and their
motivations, i.e. on the choices between lexical nouns, free vs. bound
pronouns, and so forth. The present study focuses on the paradigmatic
choices between different person forms within one and the same
morpho-syntactic expression type. In doing so it offers a new perspective
on pronoun choice and the factors influencing it cross-linguistically. While
some types of person shift appear to be rare, overall, the strategy of
person shift at narrative peak seems to constitute a solid cross-linguistic
phenomenon.



On Wed, 5 Feb 2025 at 06:00, Andrea Sansò via Lingtyp <
lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> My colleague and I are investigating an Italian term of address/vocative
> that appears to have recently developed new functions. The term in
> question, *raga*, is a shortened form of *ragazzi/e *(meaning
> "boys/girls" in the plural). While our analysis and interpretation of the
> data are still preliminary, we have observed that *raga *is no longer
> used exclusively in its original function as an attention-getter when
> addressing multiple interlocutors. Instead, it has acquired various
> functions in spoken language. Below is a preliminary list of these new
> functions:
>
> - Expressing the speaker’s surprise (with both positive and negative
> nuances)
> - Intensification/boosting
> - Marking reported discourse
>
> These new functions represent significant departures from the term's
> original, diachronically primary use. For instance, in some cases, *raga* is
> directed at a single hearer, contradicting its original plural reference.
> In others, the term occurs at the right periphery of an utterance,
> contrasting with its traditional use as a vocative or attention-getter,
> which is typically confined to the left periphery.
>
> We are aware of several studies addressing the pragmatic evolution of
> terms of address in European languages. For example, in a contrastive study
> on *güey* in Mexican Spanish and *alter* in German, Kleinknecht and Sousa
> (2017: 257) argue that “terms of address have the potential to intensify
> the affectivity displayed by the speaker. In this capacity, they may be
> employed as linguistic strategies to enhance the expressive and
> illocutionary force of utterances.” Furthermore, these expressive uses can
> serve as the basis for more specific functions related to turn-taking and
> information management. In Mexican Spanish, for instance, *güey* can
> occur in the right periphery to emphasize the preceding segment, as
> illustrated in the following example (from Kleinknecht & Sousa 2017: 275):
>
> [image: image.png]
>
> While some of the functions we have identified for *raga *align with
> common uses of terms of address (e.g., intensification/boosting), others
> are perhaps less conventional. To situate our research within a typological
> framework, we would like to ask list members for examples of non-canonical
> uses of terms of address, particularly from non-European and non-LOL
> languages. We would especially appreciate examples involving terms with
> inherently plural reference, such as *raga*, as well as any references to
> relevant literature.
>
> I will be happy to post a summary of the responses if needed. Thank you in
> advance for your help and insights.
>
> Best regards,
> Andrea Sansò
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