Quotations across the generations: A multivariate analysis of speech and thought introducers across 5 decades of Tyneside speech

Abstract

This paper reports on changes in the system of speech and thought introducers that are brought about by the adoption of innovations. Quantitative variationist analysis of a newly created corpus that spans 5 decades of conversational recordings in North-Eastern England investigates three questions: (1) What effect do extralinguistic and intralinguistic variables have on the relative distribution of the variants diachronically? (2) What are the determinants of change? (3) To what extent do different strategies of variable definition, in particular choices about the inclusion of internal states, determine the outcome of the investigation?Innovative methodology allows me to pinpoint the loci of the change that has been sparked by the intrusion of innovations, both in terms of repository of forms but also regarding the constraints that condition the whole system.

Say, be like, quote (unquote), and the air-quotes: interactive quotatives and their multimodal implications

“…Methodologically, the study is intended as a complementary alternative to the still hegemonic quantitative research paradigm on the ‘innovative’ quotatives, their global spread and (often contradictory) patterns of local sociolinguistic adaptations; that is, I will not engage in a discussion of or contribute to (mainstream) variationist investigations in the vein of Buchstaller (2011), Durham et al (2012), or Rodríguez (2013), just to name three most recent articles on (the glocalization of) be like . In contrast, my objective is informed by and compatible with Third-Wave sociolinguistics conceptions such as Eckert (2012: 87), emphasizing the necessity of accounting for social meaning in the context of styles with an explicit focus on individual speakers (even their idiosyncrasies); or Johnstone (forthcoming), acknowledging sociolinguistic authenticity in terms of individual variation and social meaning: ‘[r]ather than looking at a representative subset of a large set of data’, such investigations are instantiations of the ‘linguistics of particularity’, based on ‘a single instance of a single thing’; instead, these discourse-analytical studies in fact look at communicative situations ‘in which talk is mediated or performed’ and ‘in which the issue of what it means to say something one way or another is more complex’ (Johnstone, forthcoming: 2).…”

Doing formulating: “Writing Aloud Voice” sequences as an interactional method

“…Most studies cite the use of 'say' and 'think' along with more recent forms such as 'go' and 'be like' as the most common verbs in quotatives (e.g. Blyth et al, 1990;Holt, 1996;Buchstaller, 2011). Studies of HD, however, show that the quotation format of HD sequences makes explicit the fact that the following talk is hypothetical, e.g.…”

Quotatives. New Trends and Sociolinguistic Implications

“…In fact, in its non-referential forms (e.g., it's like) be like can even blur the boundaries between quotative and discourse marker (or filler) functions. With the growing number of studies documenting the global spread of be like, sociolinguists have been debating the causes and mechanisms of the rapid diffusion of this quotative, and the indeterminacy of its discourse-pragmatic function has been claimed to be a key factor in this extraordinary phenomenon (Buchstaller, 2011). In the first monograph on this popular topic, Buchstaller surveys the extensive body of variationist research on innovative English quotatives (be like, go, be all), extends some of her own previous analyses of quotative use and attitudes surrounding them, and weighs in on current debates.…”

“…The chapter first surveys work on direct quotation from different theoretical paradigmscognitive linguistics, variationist sociolinguistics, literary stylistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, etc. The second part of the chapter reproduces Buchstaller's (2011) comparison of a quantitative analysis conducted by coding quotations following a conservative definition with an analysis based on a maximally-inclusive definition. Here Buchstaller draws on discourse and conversation analytic perspectives which have regarded reported speech as a marker of speaker stance in interaction (e.g., Clift, 2006) to justify inclusion of complement clauses governed by stance verbs (e.g., I think, I guess).…”