Pragmatic Markers in Diachrony: Pathways, Patterns and Variation

Prof. Dr. Natalia Filatkina and Dr. Daniela Kolbe-Hanna

This project studies the dynamic processes of language variation and change that can be broadly described as conventionalization of pragmatic markers. The main focus lies on a set of words and phrases that have been used as pragmatic markers throughout the history of German and English. The term pragmatic marker is applied in a broader sense to single words as well as to multiword units used as interjections and/or discourse markers that fulfill a wide range of pragmatic and discourse functions (expression of emotions, commentary, structure and organization of text/discourse etc.). We will argue that the historical development is complex and takes several parallel routes, without following a unilinear course of conventionalization.

Conference Papers and Publications 

Daniela Kolbe-Hanna & Natalia Filatkina (2021): The diachronic origin of English I mean and German Ich meine. In: Van Olmen, Daniel/Šinkuniene, Jolanta (eds.): Pragmatic markers and peripheries. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 327-349.

Filatkina, Natalia & Daniela Kolbe-Hanna. 2019. The diachronic development and use of German ich meine and English I mean (in the left and right periphery). Paper, SLE 2019, 22.08.2019, Leipzig University.

Filatkina, Natalia. 2019. und zwar und zwar – aber. Zur Diachronie eines Verfestigungsprozesses und Mehrdimensionalität des Konstruktionswandels. In: Lasch, Alexander/Ziem, Alexander (Hg.): Konstruktionsgrammatik VI: Historische Konstruktionsgrammatik: Konvergenzen und Divergenzen im Sprach- und Konstruktionswandel. Tübingen.

Filatkina, Natalia. 2018. Historische formelhafte Sprache. Theoretische Grundlagen und Methoden ihrer Erforschung. Berlin/Boston.

Filatkina, Natalia. 2011. Wissensstrukturierung und Wissensvermittlung durch Routineformeln: Am Beispiel ausgewählter althochdeutscher Texte. In: Yearbook of Phraseology 1, 45-71 (zusammen mit Monika Hanauska).

Kolbe-Hanna, Daniela & Natalia Filatkina. Forthcoming 2021. The diachronic origin of English I mean and German ich meine. In Daniël van Olmen & Jolanta Šinkūnienė (eds.) Pragmatic Markers and Peripheries. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Kolbe-Hanna, Daniela & Laurel Brinton. Submitted. An emerging pragmatic marker: sentence-final is all. In Peterson, Elizabeth/Hiltunen, Turo/ Kern, Joseph (Hg.): Discourse Pragmatic Variation and Change: Theory, Innovations, Contact. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kolbe–Hanna, Daniela. 2014. The Comparability of Discoure Features. I think in Englishes Worldwide. In Mergenthal, Silvia/ Nischik, Reingard M. (Hg.): Anglistentag 2013 Konstanz: Proceedings. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 337-349.