LINGUIST List 10.256

Wed Feb 17 1999

Qs: Trendy language, Logophoric pronouns

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  • KLiNg0n, trendy things that influenced everyday English
  • saint-pierre, Query: quotations and reference

    Message 1: trendy things that influenced everyday English

     Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 00:10:06 +0100
    From: KLiNg0n <stornofido.hu>
    Subject: trendy things that influenced everyday English


    Dear subscribers,

    I posted a query some days ago about the effect of computer/internet use of language on everyday English. (Which is still relevant.) I have a second question now: I wonder if anyone knows of any works that describe how popular, trendy things, important historical or cultural events influenced general, everyday use of English in the past and/or provides factual information on this subject.

    My email address is: stornofido.hu

    Thank you,

    Attila

    Message 2: Query: quotations and reference

     Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 13:03:43 -0500
    From: saint-pierre <saint-pierre.madeleineuqam.ca>
    Subject: Query: quotations and reference


    Dear linguists,

    I am currently working on my MA thesis, which is about the verb for 'say' in Fongbe. In this language, there are logophoric pronouns. One could say that their use is to disambiguate the reference in quotations introduced by 'say':

    e do e na wa he say he IRR come 'he(i) says he(j) will come'

    e do emi na wa he say LOG IRR come 'he(i) says he(i) will come'

    Now, in english, when the subjects of both the main and the subordinate clause are of the same form, we have an ambiguity, which is absent in direct quotations (where reference must be disjoint):

    John(i) says (that) he(i/j) will come

    John(i) says : 'He(*i/j) will come'

    Has any work been done (in any field) about the difference in the interpretation of pronouns between direct and indirect quotatoins? I know Davidson and Partee worked on quotatoins, but they didn't seem to mention anything about how reference behaves in these contexts... My email is r36530er.uqam.ca. I'll post a summary of the answers.

    Thank you

    Olivier Tardif dpartement de linguistique Universit du Qubec Montral