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In:The Functional Perspective on Language and Discourse: Applications and implications
Edited by María de los Ángeles Gómez González, Francisco José Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, Francisco Gonzálvez-García and Angela Downing
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 247] 2014
► pp. 223–242

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Besides as a connective

 | VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 | Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
ORCiD logo with link | VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Published online: 16 May 2014
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.247.12han
This chapter throws new light upon besides as a connective in contemporary English. Using examples extracted from corpora, we consider how to reconcile the notions of “tangentiality” and “decisiveness” found in existing descriptions of its function. After an assessment of the only previous publication fully devoted to besides, Yeung (2009), we identify two major uses, which we label objective and (inter)subjective. The objective use is connected to finality, with besides marking the last argument in a chain, while the (inter)subjective use invokes a more (inter)personal viewpoint that trumps the preceding arguments. We also show that such uses were absent in the 19th century. This allows the conclusion that besides developed its distinctive characteristics in relatively recent times, predominantly in dialogue.
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2017. An exploratory study of complementary contrastive discourse constructions in English. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics 30:1 ► pp. 210 ff. DOI logo
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