Parameters for unexpected (and expected) meanings: Auxiliary do in affirmative contexts. (July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ranger, Graham
• Is Part Of: Canadian journal of linguistics. Volume 60:Number 2(2015)
• Page Start: 107
• Page End: 120
• Publication Date: 2015-07
• Subjects: auxiliary DO, -- preconstruction, -- schematic form, -- subjective positioning, -- notional domain; auxiliaire DO, -- préconstruction, -- forme schématique, -- positionnement subjectif, -- domaine notionnel; Linguistics -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 410.5
• DOI: 10.1017/S0008413100026062
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-4131

Abstract

Abstract: The DO in "Subject DO Predicate" sentences is often associated with unexpected meaning, including contradictory uses in dialogue where DO functions as a sort of reassertive marker and in monologal contexts where a speaker short-circuits potential objections. Many instances of affirmative DO do not fit into this category, however. These involve quasi-exclamative use, non-polemical use in dialogue or gnomic confirmation. Often considered prototypical, contradictory DO represents only one possible configuration: other uses can be accounted for as paramétered variations of a single fundamental operation. Affirmative DO marks speaker endorsement. Values of affirmative DO — polemical, concessive, exclamative, etc. —are shown to result from the relation between various preconstructed subjective positions and the speaker's own position.