213and be (224);^22 the frequency of these verbs is evidence of the increasing con-
textual independence of the wh- clause, the less explicit nature of its presup-
positions, and the greater need for hearers to take propositions for granted (all
signs of increasing grammaticalization).
Looking at the role of wh- pseudo- clefts in contemporary conversation,
Hopper and Thompson ( 2008 ) argue that in most instances wh- pseudo- clefts
cannot be analyzed as syntactically biclausal. Rather, what follows the wh-
clause is a whole (and relatively independent) fi nite clause. The wh -clauses
tend to be lexically constrained and formulaic (containing do , happen , mean , or
say ). Hopper and Thompson argue that the wh- clause anticipates (“projects”)
upcoming talk and serves to frame the talk in terms of pieces. The wh- clauses
are initial “pieces” which “play a key role in the strategic management of the
current talk” (114), are “relatively open- slot ‘pre- fabs’ ” (116), and are “formu-
laic pieces deployed by speakers for the purpose of managing interactive dis-
course” (118). Specifi cally, Hopper and Thompson ( 2008 : 105) note that what
I’m saying is “a rhetorical tactic to rephrase an utterance that seems to have
failed to align or harmonize with the prevailing ‘mood’ of the interaction.” In
an earlier discussion, Hopper ( 2001 ) notes that wh- pseudo- clefts are often a
tactic for delaying and holding the fl oor, alerting the hearer to the signifi cance
of the upcoming segment of talk, making an attitudinal comment about it, or
stating a general theme (e.g., what I’m saying ).
7.3.4 Origin of I’m Just Saying
The origins of I’m just saying are said to be “murky” (Simon 2010 ). It
has been attributed anecdotally to its use in comedy routines by Eddie
Murphy, Paul Reiser, Ray Romano, or Jerry Seinfeld in the 1980s and
1990s (Kiesling 2011 : 9; Painintheenglish.com comments; Liberman 2012 ,
comments), to the idiom “I’m not saying, I’m just saying” (see Liberman
2012 , comments; American Dialect Society Listserv discussion), and gen-
erally to New York or Jewish English. James Enge (see Liberman 2012 )
suggests that the source of I’m just saying is constructions in which the
complements of saying “don’t really add much content,” such as I’m just
saying things or I’m just saying what I think about it , for which he cites late
nineteenth- century/ early twentieth- century examples. Likewise, Liberman
( 2012 ) suggests that “infant versions of the idiom” may be I’m just saying
22 Interestingly, Koops and Hilpert ( 2009 ) focus on do , happen , and be , but ignore say , despite its
importance in the wh- clauses of pseudo- clefts in their data from 1850 onwards. They do note
that say , which fi gures prominently in Swedish pseudo- clefts , is used for expressing an opinion
(230).
7.3 (I’m) Just Saying and Related Comment Clauses