The Evolution of Pragmatic Markers in English Pathways of Change

226 Forms of Say (Bonelli 1992 ; Traugott 2008 ). The comment clause uses arise via a process analogous to the matrix clause hyp ...

7.4 Conclusion 227 that/ this being said , that/ this having been said – rather than reduction. I’m just saying seems to develop ...

228 Forms of Say century. All I’m saying is thus older and more developed as a comment clause than what I’m saying , which is mo ...

229 8 Two Politeness Parentheticals :  If I May Say So and For What It’s Worth 8.1 Introduction Two parentheticals (or comment c ...

230 Two Politeness Parentheticals If I may say so is generally not treated in dictionaries, but English- idioms- and- expression ...

8.1 Introduction 231 g. You know, Mike, for what it ’ s worth , maybe you’re better off letting go (2001 GH [SOAP]) (4) a. Honey ...

232 Two Politeness Parentheticals (6) a. Well for what it’s worth , Craig, your apology  – it’s a little too late (2009 ATWT) b. ...

233 8.2 If I May/Might Say So Neither variant is of high frequency: a search of COCA returns 101 examples of if I may say so and ...

234 Two Politeness Parentheticals one says so, the monkeyfl ower is a lovely specimen and the outfi t is fetching (although thei ...

235 or about “the extralinguistic knowledge required for a correct interpretation” (1096). They conclude that “[f]or all ... typ ...

236 Two Politeness Parentheticals 8.2.2.2 Comparison to Insubordinated Clauses. Because it does not depend on an overt apodosis ...

237 f. Never was there a poor people so purblinded and Puppifi ed, if I may say so , as I fi nde them to be (1661 Howell, Twelve ...

SECTIONFREQPER MILSEE ALLYEARSAT ONCE 18100 0.00 (^1) 0.14 (^3) 0.22 (^1) 0.06 (^1) 0.06 (^0) 0.00 (^9) 0.48 (^4) 0.20 (^10) 0.4 ...

239 upon a process of conversational implicature (Evans 2007 : 374; Dancygier and Sweetser 2005 : 218) or is “hypothetical” (Hei ...

240 Two Politeness Parentheticals attention to their presumed attitudes to the content of what is said), and in a more social se ...

241 8.3 For What It’s Worth The OED also notes, however, that for what it is worth is often used parenthet- ically, as shown in ...

242 Two Politeness Parentheticals In the parenthetical examples in (15), removal of for what it is worth does not alter the mean ...

243 “take it for what it is worth” and 1 example of “consider it for what is worth”) and 2 were (ambiguously) adjunct uses: (17) ...

244 Two Politeness Parentheticals The parenthetical use could derive from the adjectival adjunct use (a) by loos- ening of the a ...

245 8.3.2.1 Earliest Occurrences of For What It’s Worth. In its earliest uses, for what it is worth functions as an complement w ...