A corpus-based pragmatic analysis of the use of ‘now’ in contemporary Irish English: “It’s lunacy now”

Clancy, Brian; Vaughan, Elaine

doi:10.1075/veaw.g44.11cla

In:New Perspectives on Irish English
Edited by Bettina Migge and Máire Ní Chiosáin
[Varieties of English Around the World G44] 2012
► pp. 225–246

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“It’s lunacy now”

A corpus-based pragmatic analysis of the use of ‘now’ in contemporary Irish English

Brian Clancy | Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick

Elaine Vaughan | University of Limerick

Published online: 15 November 2012

https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g44.11cla

This paper contributes to the characterisation of the pragmatic system of Irish English through a corpus-based examination of the item now. Comparative corpus frequency data confirm the saliency of now in Irish English, highlighting the need for a more nuanced investigation. This investigation analyses 500 randomised occurrences of now from the Limerick Corpus of Irish English (LCIE) and compares them to 500 randomised occurrences from the spoken component of the British National Corpus (BNC). The analysis points toward now as markedly more frequent in the LCIE data due to its additional functions such as its use as a pragmatic marker and deictic presentative. The pragmatic function of now, visible in the corpus evidence, is given detailed attention in the discussion. Keywords: Now; corpus linguistics; discourse/pragmatic markers; deictic presentative

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