From proposition to particle

Prosodic correlates and the functional–pragmatic continuum of the emergent discourse marker nizhidao in Mandarin conversation

Bibliographic Data

ID20780342
AuthorsYi Shan (0000-0001-5852-1122, Jiaxing University), Huifeng Mu (0009-0001-1892-9024, Jiaxing University)
Year2026
Volume64
Issue4
Pages767-810
Publication date2026-07-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0024-3949 • E-ISSN: 1613-396X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/ling-2025-0066
OpenAlexW7167415599
LanguageEN
References cited40

This study investigates the emergent discourse marker (DM) nizhidao in Mandarin speech, focusing on its prosodic, positional, and pragmatic properties. While nizhidao has been broadly characterized as a marker of intersubjectivity, its functional versatility in real-time interaction, including marking shared knowledge, indexing/imposing new information, emphasizing content, and facilitating self-repair, remains less explored. Drawing on 38 telephone conversations, we propose a tripartite prosodic taxonomy to analyze its interactional behavior. Findings reveal that the pragmatic functions of nizhidao are systematically linked to distinct pitch contours and positional flexibility across turn-constructional units and turns. Despite lacking strict form–function mappings, prosodic features systematically predict its role in managing epistemic alignment and discourse coherence. Nizhidao exhibits emergent functional diversification progressing from propositional syntax to pragmatic periphery, characterized by increasing intersubjectivity and pragmatic conventionalization. This pragmatic conventionalization is marked by syntactic decategorization, phonetic reduction, and functional expansion, particularly at the right periphery. By integrating prosodic analysis with conversation structure, we challenge assumptions about the primacy of left-periphery subjectivity in Mandarin DMs and highlight the role of prosody in disentangling emergent versus stabilized DMs. Our results underscore the necessity for multimodal methodologies in accounting for the dynamic interplay of form, function, and position in pragmaticalization trajectories

Conversation · Intersubjectivity · Mandarin Chinese · Pragmatics · Proposition · Prosody · Subjectivity · Syntax · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access