Loss and emergence: (Double) demonstratives and ‘indefinite this’ in Ontario dialects

Laura Rupp; Sali A. Tagliamonte

doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015

Loss and emergence: (Double) demonstratives and ‘indefinite this’ in Ontario dialects

Laura Rupp^*, Sali A. Tagliamonte

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Studies in language variation and change normally conduct quantitative analyses of (relatively) large samples. In this article we demonstrate how even meagre tokens can provide key information about the characteristics of change in conditions of loss. As a case study, we study double demonstrative constructions (DDEMO_NPs) in Ontario, Canada. We show that DDEMO_NPs are obsolescent, restricted to older male speakers doing blue collar jobs. Building on theories of dialect recession (Schilling-Estes and Wolfram, 1999), we argue that on their way to moribund status, DDEMO_NPs undergo a process of ‘concentration’ of the kind postulated by Jankowski and Tagliamonte (2017). Specifically, we demonstrate that from among the potential range of forms and functions of demonstratives, speakers relatively frequently use DDEMO_NPs as ‘indefinite this’ (Prince, 1981a), a fairly recent usage of this to introduce a new referent into discourse. This finding suggests that loss of a form is not a simple matter of decreasing frequency. Rather, qualitative scrutiny of the data is essential to expose more nuanced trajectories of decline. Additionally, studying obsolescent dialect features may reveal the origins of new uses; we will advance the idea that DDEMO_NPs provide an alternative perspective on the emergence of indefinite this via discourse-pragmatic innovation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	66-78
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Pragmatics
Volume	189
Early online date	13 Jan 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015
Publication status	Published - Feb 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The second author gratefully acknowledges the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for research grants 2001-present and the Canada Research Chairs program (CRC) in Language Variation and Change. The funding sources were not involved in research design, fieldwork or implementation. We are indebted to Bridget Jankowski for her expert assistance with wrangling the Ontario data as well as the many fieldworkers and employees of the UofT Variationist Sociolinguistics Lab, @VariationNation. We also thank John MacFie, local historian and Nadine Hammond, Curator of the Museum on Tower Hill for their collaboration on the Parry Sound branch of the Ontario Dialects Project.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)

Keywords

Discourse-pragmatic innovation
Double demonstratives
Indefinite this
Obsolescence
Ontario dialects

Access to Document

10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015Licence: CC BY

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

@article{e007547e6b464e7982323ae61aadcaf7,

title = "Loss and emergence: (Double) demonstratives and {\textquoteleft}indefinite this{\textquoteright} in Ontario dialects",

abstract = "Studies in language variation and change normally conduct quantitative analyses of (relatively) large samples. In this article we demonstrate how even meagre tokens can provide key information about the characteristics of change in conditions of loss. As a case study, we study double demonstrative constructions (DDEMO_NPs) in Ontario, Canada. We show that DDEMO_NPs are obsolescent, restricted to older male speakers doing blue collar jobs. Building on theories of dialect recession (Schilling-Estes and Wolfram, 1999), we argue that on their way to moribund status, DDEMO_NPs undergo a process of {\textquoteleft}concentration{\textquoteright} of the kind postulated by Jankowski and Tagliamonte (2017). Specifically, we demonstrate that from among the potential range of forms and functions of demonstratives, speakers relatively frequently use DDEMO_NPs as {\textquoteleft}indefinite this{\textquoteright} (Prince, 1981a), a fairly recent usage of this to introduce a new referent into discourse. This finding suggests that loss of a form is not a simple matter of decreasing frequency. Rather, qualitative scrutiny of the data is essential to expose more nuanced trajectories of decline. Additionally, studying obsolescent dialect features may reveal the origins of new uses; we will advance the idea that DDEMO_NPs provide an alternative perspective on the emergence of indefinite this via discourse-pragmatic innovation.",

keywords = "Discourse-pragmatic innovation, Double demonstratives, Indefinite this, Obsolescence, Ontario dialects",

author = "Laura Rupp and Tagliamonte, {Sali A.}",

note = "Funding Information: The second author gratefully acknowledges the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for research grants 2001-present and the Canada Research Chairs program (CRC) in Language Variation and Change. The funding sources were not involved in research design, fieldwork or implementation. We are indebted to Bridget Jankowski for her expert assistance with wrangling the Ontario data as well as the many fieldworkers and employees of the UofT Variationist Sociolinguistics Lab, @VariationNation. We also thank John MacFie, local historian and Nadine Hammond, Curator of the Museum on Tower Hill for their collaboration on the Parry Sound branch of the Ontario Dialects Project. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s)",

year = "2022",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015",

language = "English",

volume = "189",

pages = "66--78",

journal = "Journal of Pragmatics",

issn = "0378-2166",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Loss and emergence: (Double) demonstratives and ‘indefinite this’ in Ontario dialects

AU - Rupp, Laura

AU - Tagliamonte, Sali A.

N1 - Funding Information: The second author gratefully acknowledges the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for research grants 2001-present and the Canada Research Chairs program (CRC) in Language Variation and Change. The funding sources were not involved in research design, fieldwork or implementation. We are indebted to Bridget Jankowski for her expert assistance with wrangling the Ontario data as well as the many fieldworkers and employees of the UofT Variationist Sociolinguistics Lab, @VariationNation. We also thank John MacFie, local historian and Nadine Hammond, Curator of the Museum on Tower Hill for their collaboration on the Parry Sound branch of the Ontario Dialects Project. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - Studies in language variation and change normally conduct quantitative analyses of (relatively) large samples. In this article we demonstrate how even meagre tokens can provide key information about the characteristics of change in conditions of loss. As a case study, we study double demonstrative constructions (DDEMO_NPs) in Ontario, Canada. We show that DDEMO_NPs are obsolescent, restricted to older male speakers doing blue collar jobs. Building on theories of dialect recession (Schilling-Estes and Wolfram, 1999), we argue that on their way to moribund status, DDEMO_NPs undergo a process of ‘concentration’ of the kind postulated by Jankowski and Tagliamonte (2017). Specifically, we demonstrate that from among the potential range of forms and functions of demonstratives, speakers relatively frequently use DDEMO_NPs as ‘indefinite this’ (Prince, 1981a), a fairly recent usage of this to introduce a new referent into discourse. This finding suggests that loss of a form is not a simple matter of decreasing frequency. Rather, qualitative scrutiny of the data is essential to expose more nuanced trajectories of decline. Additionally, studying obsolescent dialect features may reveal the origins of new uses; we will advance the idea that DDEMO_NPs provide an alternative perspective on the emergence of indefinite this via discourse-pragmatic innovation.

AB - Studies in language variation and change normally conduct quantitative analyses of (relatively) large samples. In this article we demonstrate how even meagre tokens can provide key information about the characteristics of change in conditions of loss. As a case study, we study double demonstrative constructions (DDEMO_NPs) in Ontario, Canada. We show that DDEMO_NPs are obsolescent, restricted to older male speakers doing blue collar jobs. Building on theories of dialect recession (Schilling-Estes and Wolfram, 1999), we argue that on their way to moribund status, DDEMO_NPs undergo a process of ‘concentration’ of the kind postulated by Jankowski and Tagliamonte (2017). Specifically, we demonstrate that from among the potential range of forms and functions of demonstratives, speakers relatively frequently use DDEMO_NPs as ‘indefinite this’ (Prince, 1981a), a fairly recent usage of this to introduce a new referent into discourse. This finding suggests that loss of a form is not a simple matter of decreasing frequency. Rather, qualitative scrutiny of the data is essential to expose more nuanced trajectories of decline. Additionally, studying obsolescent dialect features may reveal the origins of new uses; we will advance the idea that DDEMO_NPs provide an alternative perspective on the emergence of indefinite this via discourse-pragmatic innovation.

KW - Discourse-pragmatic innovation

KW - Double demonstratives

KW - Indefinite this

KW - Obsolescence

KW - Ontario dialects

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122638623&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85122638623&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015

DO - 10.1016/j.pragma.2021.10.015

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85122638623

SN - 0378-2166

VL - 189

SP - 66

EP - 78

JO - Journal of Pragmatics

JF - Journal of Pragmatics

ER -

Loss and emergence: (Double) demonstratives and ‘indefinite this’ in Ontario dialects

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this