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The Imperative of Say as a Pragmatic Marker in English and Dutch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2013

Daniël Van Olmen
Daniël Van Olmen*
Affiliation:
North-West University Potchefstroom
*
School of Languages, North-West University Potcheftroom, Internal Box 395, Private Bag X6001, 2520 Potchefstroom, South Africa, [daniel.vanolmen@nwu.ac.za]
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Abstract

This article examines the imperative of say as a pragmatic marker in English and Dutch. Present-day say and zeg ‘say’ are contrasted on the basis of comparable corpus data. This comparison, together with additional diachronic data, serves as input for a study of the typical developments of the imperative of say as a pragmatic marker. Further-more, on the basis of a wider range of European and other languages, the article explores the possibility of the developments in English and Dutch being an areal phenomenon.*

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Germanic Linguistics , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 247 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Germanic Linguistics 2013 

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