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Doing pragmatics with style

A corpus-pragmatic study of NOT-negation in the writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates

ORCiD logo with link | University of Bergen | Volda University College
Published online: 18 December 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.25073.hat
Abstract
Linguistic expressions of negation have been investigated from various perspectives: sociolinguistic variation, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. However, this linguistic phenomenon has received little attention in discourse studies. This corpus-pragmatic case study presents a systematic analysis of the use and functions of NOT-negation in oppositional discourse, specifically in the writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates. Methodologically, it combines a variationist approach and corpus-based discourse analysis. The findings, analyzed through the lens of audience design, reveal that Coates’s use of NOT-negation contributes to a conversational style of writing which can be interpreted as a strategy to maintain a dialogical flow of discourse.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Negation
    • 2.2Audience design
    • 2.3(Oppositional) discourse
  • 3.Data and methodology
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Analytical framework of the study
      • 3.2.1NOT-negation
      • 3.2.2N’T-negation
  • 4.The use and functions of not and n’t in COCO
    • 4.1Quantitative results of the use of not and n’t in COCO
    • 4.2Contextual uses and functions of not and n’t in COCO
      • 4.2.1The use of ain’t
      • 4.2.2The use of the older negation pattern without periphrastic do
      • 4.2.3Constituent uses of not
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (62)
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