Discourse-Pragmatic Variation and Change : Theory, Innovations, Contact

With contributions from leading scholars in the field, this book provides a comprehensive overview of discourse-pragmatic variation and change. It has a particular focus on the theoretical and methodological issues that have arisen around this topic in recent years, and includes examples from a wide range of languages.

Discourse-pragmatic markers are central to everyday language, yet many aspects of their use and functions remain elusive or under-investigated. Bringing together a global team of leading scholars, this volume presents a representative showcase of work currently being conducted in the field of discourse-pragmatic variation and change, including investigations of features such as uh/um, please, sentence-final is all, and discourse-pragmatic features from a number of languages. The book emphasizes that not only have researchers answered the call to address complex issues such as cross-linguistic reliability, extending research across languages, and expanding and improving on methods and analysis, but that they continue to address perennial questions in the field of language variation and change. With sections on theoretical and methodological issues, innovative variables, and language contact situations, the volume offers a robust overview of best practices for both new and experienced researchers.