Abstract
Based on data obtained from 20 interview recordings that involve descriptions of pictures of different attractions, this paper examines how native speakers of Cantonese use different strategies, in particular grammatical strategies, to modulate (i.e. upgrade or downgrade) the epistemic strength of their claims when they are challenged or disaffirmed by their addressee(s) in an interactional context. Our analysis reveals that speakers make use of four categories of strategies to modulate their assertions, including i) epistemic modals (e.g. jing1goi1 ‘should’, ho2nang4 ‘might’), and adverbials (e.g. kei4sat6 ‘in fact’, si6sat6soeng6 ‘in fact’, tung1soeng4 ‘usually’), ii) evidentials which are explicit (e.g. ngo5 gu2 ‘I guess’) or implicit (e.g. hou2ci3 ‘seems’, jau5 ho2nang4 ‘likely’), iii) sentence final particles with weak epistemic strength (e.g. ge2, gwaa3, za1maa3) or strong epistemic strength (e.g. wo3, gaa3), iv) discourse-pragmatic strategies (e.g. to keep silent, to provide a reason, as well as the use of redressive language).
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The 45th Australian Linguistic Society Conference Proceedings – 2014 |
Editors | Mark Harvey , Alexis Antonia |
Publisher | University of Newcastle |
Pages | 104-130 |
Number of pages | 27 |
ISBN (Print) | 0994150709, 9780994150707 |
Publication status | Published - 10 Dec 2014 |
Event | The 45th Australian Linguistic Society Conference 2014 - Duration: 10 Dec 2014 → 12 Dec 2014 |
Conference
Conference | The 45th Australian Linguistic Society Conference 2014 |
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Period | 10/12/14 → 12/12/14 |
User-Defined Keywords
- evidentiality
- epistemicity
- stance-marking
- Cantonese