ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
The Yearbook of the Estonian Mother Tongue Society cover
The Yearbook of the Estonian Mother Tongue Society
Impact Factor (2022): 0.3
Kuue (inter)subjektiivsuspartikli kasutus eesti keele registrites; pp. 91–123
PDF | 10.3176/esa66.04

Authors
Tiit Hennoste, Helle Metslang, Külli Habicht, Külli Prillop
Abstract

The use of six (inter)subjectivity particles in Estonian registers

The article analyzes the usage of three epistemic particles (vist, ilmselttegelikult) and three attitude particles (õnneks, kahjuksparaku) in texts belonging to different registers of Estonian: spoken interaction (institutional and everyday), online texts (instant messaging and comments), printed texts (prose fiction, journalism, and academic texts). The research material comes from the Keeleveeb portal and the corpora compiled in the project PRG341 “Pragmatics overwrites grammar: subjectivity and intersubjectivity in different registers and genres of Estonian”. The study combines descriptive statistics with qualitative semantic and pragmatic analysis of the particles, comparing the frequency of usage of particles in different registers and exploring the possible semantic/pragmatic motivations underlying the frequency data. 

The research results broadly confirm the statistical picture obtained from similar studies done on other languages. Particles are used especially often in everyday interaction and quite rarely in journalism and academic texts. Verbal interaction, online comment sections and fiction fall between these two extremes. However, the analysis also reveals that this sort of generalizing overview fails to adequately describe the phenomena under investigation.

First, the typical approach in register analysis, wherein epistemic and attitude particles are taken together as one group, is not appropriate. Different particles behave differently and should be analyzed individually. Only by doing this is it possible to determine the similarities and differences between particles.

Second, the oppositions hitherto proposed as factors capable of explaining the differences in usage frequency between particles (e.g. dialogue/monologue, spontaneous/edited, everyday/public) do indeed work, but only within certain boundaries. They can explain the variation in frequency of some but not all particles, and they can explain some but not all of the differences. We have identified additional factors and created a narrower classification of the previously known factors. Third, the variation in usage frequency of certain particles may itself be a useful criterion for distinguishing different registers. This is true primarily of neutral and widely used particles. Of the particles analyzed in the present study, the most appropriate for this purpose are vist, expressing uncertain knowledge, and the contrast-marking particle tegelikult.

References


Aijmer, Karin 2013. Understanding Pragmatic Markers: A Variational Pragmatic Approach. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Baron, Naomi S. 2008. Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. New York: Oxford University Press. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313055.001.0001

Baron, Naomi S. 2013. Instant messaging. – Pragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication. Ed. by Susan S. Herring, Dieter Stein, Tuija Virtanen. (= Handbooks of Pragmatics 9.) Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 135–161. 
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214468.135

Biber, Douglas 1988. Variation across Speech and Writing. New York: Cambridge University Press. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511621024

Biber, Douglas 1995. Dimensions of Register Variation: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511519871

Biber, Douglas, Susan Conrad 2009. Register, Genre, and Style. (= Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814358

Breitkopf-Siepmann, Anna 2012. Hedging in German and Russian conference presentations: A cross-cultural view. – Subjectivity in Language and Discourse. Ed. by Nicole Baumgarten, Inke Du Bois, Juliane House. (= Studies in Pragmatics 10.) Leiden: Brill, 295–318. 
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004261921_014

Chafe, Wallace L. 1982. Integration and involvement in speaking, writing, and oral literature. – Spoken and Written Language: Exploring Orality and Literacy. Ed. Deborah Tannen. Norwood: Ablex, 35–53.

Chafe, Wallace L., Jane Danielewicz 1987. Properties of spoken and written language. – Comprehending Oral and Written Language. Ed. by Rosalind Horowitz, S. Jay Samuels. Academic Press, 83–113.

Crystal, David 2006. Language and the Internet (2. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511487002

Degand, Liesbeth, Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen (eds.) 2011. Grammaticalization, pragmaticalization and (inter)subjectification: Methodological issues in the study of discourse markers. – Linguistics 49 (2).

EKG II = Mati Erelt, Reet Kasik, Helle Metslang, Henno Rajandi, Kristiina Ross, Henn Saari, Kaja Tael, Silvi Vare 1993. Eesti keele grammatika. II. Süntaks. Lisa: Kiri. Trükki toimetanud Mati Erelt (peatoimetajana), Tiiu Erelt, Henn Saari, Ülle Viks. Tallinn: Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia Keele ja Kirjanduse Instituut. 

Fanego, Teresa 2010. Paths in the development of elaborative discourse markers: Evidence from Spanish. – Subjectification, Intersubjectification and Grammaticalization. Ed. by Kristin Davidse, Lieven Vandelanotte, Hubert Cuyckens. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 197–240. 
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110226102.2.197

Fitzmaurice, Susan 2004. Subjectivity, intersubjectivity and the historical construction of interlocutor stance: From stance markers to discourse markers. – Discourse Studies 6 (4), 427–448. 
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461445604046585

Haselow, Alexander 2012. Subjectivity, intersubjectivity and the negotiation of common ground in spoken discourse: Final particles in English. – Language & Communication 32 (3), 182–204. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2012.04.008

Hennoste, Tiit 2000. Allkeeled. – Eesti keele allkeeled. Toim. Tiit Hennoste. (= Tartu Ülikooli eesti keele õppetooli toimetised 16.) Tartu: Tartu Ülikool, 9–56.

Hennoste, Tiit 2008. Uudise käsiraamat. Kuidas otsida, kirjutada, toimetada ja serveerida ajaleheuudist. 2. kohendatud trükk. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.

Hennoste, Tiit, Olga Gerassimenko, Riina Kasterpalu, Mare Koit, Kirsi Laanesoo, Anni Oja, Andriela Rääbis, Krista Strandson 2010. The structure of a discontinuous dialogue formed by internet comments. – Text, Speech and Dialogue. Ed. by Petr Sojka, Aleš Horák, Ivan Kopeček, Karel Pala. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 515–522.

Hennoste, Tiit, Külli Habicht, Helle Metslang, Külli Prillop, Kirsi Laanesoo, David Ogren, Liina Pärismaa, Elen Pärt, Andra Rumm, Andriela Rääbis, Carl Eric Simmul 2020. Diskursusemarker (ma) arvan (et). – Emakeele Seltsi aastaraamat 65. Peatoim. Mati Erelt. Emakeele Selts. Tallinn: EKSA, 63–90. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/esa65.03

Hennoste, Tiit, Helle Metslang, Külli Habicht, Anni Jürine, Kirsi Laanesoo, David Ogren 2016. Üldküsimuse vorm ja funktsioonid läbi nelja sajandi ja kuue tekstiliigi. – Emakeele Seltsi aastaraamat 61. Peatoim. Mati Erelt. Emakeele Selts. Tallinn: Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus, 80–109. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/esa61.04

Hennoste, Tiit, Karl Pajusalu 2013. Eesti keele allkeeled. Õpik gümnaasiumile. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus.

Herring, Susan C., Dieter Stein, Tuija Virtanen (eds.) 2013. Pragmatics of Computer-Mediated Communication. (= Handbooks of Pragmatics 9.) Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. 
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214468

House, Juliane 2013. Developing pragmatic competence in English as a lingua franca: Using discourse markers to express (inter)subjectivity and connectivity. – Journal of Pragmatics 59, Part A, 57–67. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.03.001

Jonsson, Ewa 2015. Conversational Writing: A Multidimensional Study of Synchronous and Supersynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication. Peter Lang Edition. 
https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-653-06512-1

Kaalep, Heiki-Jaan, Kadri Muischnek 2002. Eesti kirjakeele sagedussõnastik. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.

Kehayov, Petar 2009. Interaction between grammatical evidentials and lexical markers of epistemicity and evidentiality: A case study of Bulgarian and Estonian. – Wiener Slawistischer Almanach 72, 165–201.

Küngas, Annika 2014. Pragmaatiliste markerite kujunemine ja funktsioonid eesti keeles lt-sõnade näitel. (= Dissertationes philologiae estonicae universitatis Tartuensis 36.) Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.

Leech, Geoffrey, Mick Short 2007. Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction to English Fictional Prose. 2nd ed. London: Longman.

Luik, Alice 2020. Episteemilise modaalsuse markerite kasutusfunktsioonidest eesti keeles. Bakalaureusetöö. Tallinn: Tallinna Ülikool.

Marin-Arrese, Juana I. 2007. Commitment and subjectivity in the discourse of opinion columns and leading articles. A corpus study. – RAEL: revista electrónica de lingüística aplicada, Extra 1, 82–98.

Mortensen, Janus 2012. Subjectivity and intersubjectivity as aspects of epistemic stance marking. – Subjectivity in Language and Discourse. Ed. by Nicole Baumgarten, Inke Du Bois, Juliane House. (= Studies in Pragmatics 10.) Leiden: Brill, 229–246. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004261921_011

Narrog, Heiko 2017. Three types of subjectivity, three types of intersubjectivity, their dynamicization and a synthesis. – Aspects of Grammaticalization: (Inter)subjectification and Directionality. Ed. by Daniël Van Olmen, Hubert Cuyckens, Lobke Ghesquière. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 19–46. 
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110492347-002

Nuyts, Jan 2012. Notions of (inter)subjectivity. – English Text Construction 5 (1), 53–76. 
https://doi.org/10.1075/etc.5.1.04nuy

Nykänen, Elise, Aino Koivisto 2013. Näkökulmia kaunokirjalliseen dialogiin. – Dialogi kaunokirjallisuudessa. Toim. Aino Koivisto, Elise Nykänen. (= Tietolipas 242.) Helsinki: Suomen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 9–56.

Pho, Phuong Dzung 2012. Authorial stance in research article abstracts and introductions from two disciplines. – Subjectivity in Language and Discourse. Ed. by Nicole Baumgarten, Inke Du Bois, Juliane House. Leiden: Brill, 97–114. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004261921_006

Piórkowska, Agnieszka 2017. Subjectification and intersubjectification in the analysis of the Polish adverb niestety ’unfortunately/regrettably’. – Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies 17, 9–29.

Prillop, Külli, Tiit Hennoste, Külli Habicht, Helle Metslang 2021. Ei saa me läbi „Pragmaatika“ korpuseta. Korpuspragmaatika ja pragmaatikakorpus. – Mäetagused (ilmumas).

Reinsalu, Riina 2019. Juhendavad haldustekstid žanriteoreetilises raamistikus. (= Dissertationes philologiae estonicae universitatis Tartuensis 44.) Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus.

Rühlemann, Christoph 2007. Conversation in Context: A Corpus-Driven Approach. London: Continuum.

Traugott, Elizabeth Closs 2003. From subjectification to intersubjectification. – Motives for Language Change. Ed. Raymond Hickey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 124–139. 
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486937.009

Traugott, Elizabeth Closs 2010. (Inter)subjectivity and (inter)subjectification: A reassessment. – Subjectification, Intersubjectification and Grammaticalization. Ed. by Kristin Davidse, Lieven Vandelanotte, Hubert Cuyckens. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 29–74. 
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110226102.1.29

Tüüts, Laura, Reili Argus 2016. Episteemilise modaalsuse leksikaalsete väljendusvahendite tajumisest: arvatavastiäkki ja võib-olla. – Eesti ja soome-ugri keeleteaduse ajakiri. Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics 7 (2), 187‒208. 
https://doi.org/10.12697/jeful.2016.7.2.08

Valdmets, Annika 2013. Modal particles, discourse markers, and adverbs with lt-suffix in Estonian. – Discourse Markers and Modal Particles: Categorization and Description. Ed. by Liesbeth Degand, Bert Cornillie, Paola Pietrandrea. (= Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 234.) Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 107–132. 
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.234.05val

Valdmets, Annika, Külli Habicht 2013. Episteemilistest modaalpartiklitest eesti kirjakeeles. – Eesti ja soome-ugri keeleteaduse ajakiri. Journal of Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics 4 (1), 205–222. 
https://doi.org/10.12697/jeful.2013.4.1.12

Virroja, Kelly 2020. Episteemilise modaalsuse markerite kasutusfunktsioonid poliitilises vestlussaates „Esimene stuudio“. Bakalaureusetöö. Tallinn: Tallinna Ülikool.

Waksler, Rachelle 2012. Super, uber, so and totally: Over-the-top intensification to mark subjectivity in colloquial discourse. – Subjectivity in Language and Discourse. Ed. by Nicole Baumgarten, Inke Du Bois, Juliane House. Leiden: Brill, 17–31. 
http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004261921_003

 

Võrgumaterjalid

EKSS = Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat. http://www.eki.ee/dict/ekss/ (20.03.2021).

ENC19 = Jelena Kallas, Kristina Koppel 2020. Eesti keele ühendkorpus 2019. Eesti Keeleressursside Keskus. 
https://doi.org/10.15155/3-00-0000-0000-0000-08489L (15.03.2021).

Keeleveeb. https://www.keeleveeb.ee/  (21.03.2021).

Suulise eesti keele korpus. 
https://keeleressursid.ee/et/220-suulise-eesti-keele-korpus (21.03.2021).

Sõnaveeb = EKI ühendsõnastik 2020. Eesti Keele Instituut. 
https://sonaveeb.ee  (20.03.2021).

Back to Issue