Puggaard2019

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Puggaard2019
BibType ARTICLE
Key Puggaard2019
Author(s) Rasmus Puggaard
Title Flexibility of frequent clause openers in talk-in-interaction: Det ‘it, that’ and ‘then’ in the prefield in Danish
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Danish, information structure, online syntax, turn-initial
Publisher
Year 2019
Language
City
Month
Journal Nordic Journal of Linguistics
Volume 42
Number 3
Pages 291–327
URL Link
DOI 10.1017/S0332586519000088
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

Through in-depth analysis of the use of det ‘it, that’ and ‘then’ occupying the first clausal position (the prefield) in Danish talk-in-interaction, this paper investigates how speakers use highly flexible linguistic elements to their advantage when commencing clauses in real time. These particular words are useful when occupying the prefield, because their flexible nature means that they can be used even when speakers do not have a full format ready for the carrier clause, as long as they have some idea of the interactional purpose of the clause and its information structural prerequisites. The dominating frequency of the most frequent clause openers goes largely unmentioned in previous accounts of the prefield, and the use of det ‘it, that’ and ‘then’ challenges the popular notion that the textually unmarked prefield is also the grammatical subject of the carrier clause.

Notes