An Analysis of Colloquial Singapore English lah and Its Interpretation across Speech Acts

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5900908
AutoresJunwen Lee (0000-0002-8233-7672, Nanyang Technological University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen7
Número3
Páginas203
Fecha de publicación2022-08-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguages (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages7030203
OpenAlexW4289522090
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas27

Previous research has observed that the Colloquial Singapore English particle lah conveys many different, and sometimes contradictory, pragmatic effects. In this paper, I focus specifically on how lah, pronounced in a low falling tone, behaves differently with assertions and directives-although it emphasizes the truth of assertions, it weakens the authoritative force of directives. In addition, it can be used in a non-emphatic way with confirmation-seeking statements. I propose that the particle conveys the not-at-issue or side comment that the lah-marked proposition directly follows from the evidence it is based on, which is interpreted by the addressee as an attempt by the speaker to justify her utterance. The different pragmatic effects of the particle then result from how this not-at-issue comment is interpreted in relation to the speech act of the utterances they mark

Colloquialism · Focus (optics · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Physics · Proposition · Relation (database · Tone (literature · Utterance · Variation (astronomy · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Psychology · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism