Whales, Candlelight, and Stuff Like That: General Extenders in English Discourse
This innovative work provides the first comprehensive account of general extenders ("or something," "and stuff," "or whatever"). Combining insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and interactional sociolinguistics, the author demonstrates that these small phrases are not simply vague expressions, but have a powerful role in making interpersonal communication work. The audience for this book includes linguists, scholars of English, teachers of English as a first and a second language,...
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This innovative work provides the first comprehensive account of general extenders ("or something," "and stuff," "or whatever"). Combining insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and interactional sociolinguistics, the author demonstrates that these small phrases are not simply vague expressions, but have a powerful role in making interpersonal communication work. The audience for this book includes linguists, scholars of English, teachers of English as a first and a second language, sociolinguists, psycholinguists, and communications researchers.
Transcription ConventionsPt. 1PreliminariesCh. 1Introduction3Pt. 2Ideational FunctionCh. 2Vague Language and List Construction21Ch. 3Category Implication31Ch. 4Category Inference47Pt. 3Interpersonal FunctionCh. 5Intersubjectivity65Ch. 6Expectations, Evaluations, and Emphasis79Ch. 7Politeness97Ch. 8The Maxim of Quality and Disjunctive General Extenders111Ch. 9The Maxim of Quantity and Adjunctive General Extenders125Pt. 4ConclusionCh. 10Summary143Notes153References157Index167
