Chapter 10
An emerging final particle
The case of quoi ‘what’ in French
Turn-taking is one of the contexts leading to
innovative language use. In this article, I will explore the
relationship between the emergence of grammatical patterns and
intersubjectivity. Final particles belong to the category of
linguistic expressions that generate the production of interactional
grammar. After reviewing the various meanings of final
quoi in French
dictionaries, I will test the five principles of grammaticalization,
namely layering, divergence, specialization, persistence and
decategorization and I will try to show that the evolution of the
particle cannot be restricted to the grammaticalization process.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Data
- 3.quoi in
dictionaries
- 4.Hopper’s (1991) five
principles of grammaticalization
- 4.1Principle 1: Layering
- 4.2Principle 2: Divergence
- 4.3Principle 3: Specialization
- 4.4Principle 4: Persistence
- 4.5Principle 5: Decategorization
- 5.Grammaticalization of the particle and beyond
- 6.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
-
Dictionaries
-
Corpus