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In:The Interpersonal Level in Functional Discourse Grammar
Edited by Monielly Serafim, Matthias Mittendorfer and Kees Hengeveld
[Studies in Language Companion Series 241] 2027
► pp. 123–158

Insults as a sentence type

A cross-linguistic perspective

 | University of Amsterdam
 | Lancaster University
 | University of Amsterdam
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This paper asks whether insults are ever encoded as a distinct sentence type in natural languages, and hence form a distinct grammaticalized Illocution in the languages concerned. To assess this, we designed three mutually independent criteria and applied these to 29 constructions from 23 languages, gathering data via native speaker consultation, corpus searches and published literature. Our results indicate that seven of these constructions are exclusively used for the communicative goal of insulting the addressee, thus providing evidence for the existence of an Insultive Illocution. Moreover, we found evidence of an underspecified Evaluative Illocution in nine languages. We therefore propose that both the Insultive and the Evaluative be added to the inventory of grammaticalized Illocution recognized in Functional Discourse Grammar.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Insults, impoliteness and linguistic form
    • 1.2Illocution in FDG
  • 2.Overview of constructions
  • 3.Data and methodology
    • 3.1Criteria
    • 3.2Data
    • 3.3Applying the criteria
  • 4.FDG analysis
    • 4.1Insultives, Interpellatives and Evaluatives
      • 4.1.1Three abstract predicates for direct address
      • 4.1.2Vocatives and (pro)nominals
    • 4.2FDG analysis by construction type
      • 4.2.1Underspecified, unrestricted, flexible Evaluative operators (‘− − −’)
      • 4.2.2Underspecified, restricted, flexible Evaluative operators
        not occurring in summonses (‘− − +’)
      • 4.2.3Underspecified, restricted, rigid Evaluative operators
        occurring in summonses (‘− + − ’)
      • 4.2.4Unrestricted, flexible Negative Evaluative operators (‘+ − − ’)
      • 4.2.5Restricted, flexible Negative Evaluative operators (‘+ − +’)
      • 4.2.6Restricted, rigid Negative Evaluative operators (‘+ + −’)
      • 4.2.7Evaluative Illocution markers (‘− + +’)
      • 4.2.8Insultive Illocution markers (‘+ + +’)
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Author queries
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations (not in the Leipzig Glossing Rules)
  • References
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