This is the first comprehensive volume to explore the tendency from ‘intersubjective’ to ‘textual’ functions in semantic-pragmatic change. It challenges the influential hypothesis based on the pioneering works by Traugott, i.e. the unidirectionality of change from objective to subjective and then… read more
It is widely acknowledged that subjective elements emerge in the initial position of an utterance, known as the left periphery, whereas intersubjective elements typically emerge in the final position, referred to as the right periphery. However, this functional asymmetry is not invariably… read more
This introduction presents this volume, explaining how it originated and what issues it intends to tackle. After setting its context and rationale, the theoretical background is discussed, i.e. the tendency of semantic-pragmatic change to be associated with cases of grammaticalization. The… read more
This study explores the use of the discourse marker well as a response-delaying marker in non-straightforward answers to wh-questions, specifically when responses involve inserting a side story. Through a detailed analysis of conversational data, particularly from interviews, this study… read more
This paper discusses the semantic change of well as a discourse marker from the perspective of politeness with synchronic conversational data. Previous research proposed two pathways of development of this marker: from textual to expressive and from expressive to textual. Based on the latter… read more
