226 Forms of Say
(Bonelli 1992 ; Traugott 2008 ). The comment clause uses arise via a process
analogous to the matrix clause hypothesis. The all- clause – the original sub-
ject of the pseudo- cleft – becomes parenthetical, and the original clausal
predicate complement is reanalyzed as the main clause. This may lead to loss
of is as the all - clause is fully developed as a comment clause and no longer
syntactically linked to the main clause.^38 The fi rst comment clauses with is
appear in the 1940s, and those without is a decade later. The construction that’s
all I’m saying and the reverse cleft is all I’m saying are later variants and fairly
uncommon, thus unlikely to have contributed to the rise of the construction;
also is all I’m saying is postpositive, whereas all I’m saying is always in initial
position.
What I’m saying is begins as a biclausal wh- pseudo- cleft in the later nine-
teenth century with the projecting and framing function noted by Hopper and
Thompson ( 2008 ). My data dating the rise of comment clause usage are scant
(one example from the late nineteenth century with a gap until the late twenti-
eth century), but I presume the course of development follows that of all- clefts.
That is, the wh- clause becomes parenthetical, while the original complement
clause is reanalyzed as the main clause. Again, loss of is may follow, though
numbers, even in modern corpora, are low. That’s what I am saying and is what
I’m saying , arising in the early and mid twentieth centuries, respectively, are
rare and thus unlikely contributors to the rise of what I’m saying.
The simple present- tense forms, all I say is and what I say is , can be seen as
precursors of the constructions dealt with here, but as with I’m just saying (see
Section 7.3.4.3 ), the progressive is important in giving the constructions their
subjective and expressive nature.
Overall, all I’m saying is older and more developed as a comment clause
(more frequent overall, more commonly found without be or in the double
copula construction, more fi xed in form), whereas what I’m saying has
more literal and varied uses and is hence less developed as a comment
clause.
7.4 Conclusion
The forms discussed in this chapter point to the diversity of sources and pro-
cesses contributing to the rise of new comment clauses and the continuing
importance of say as a source for comment clauses in the history of English.
Syntactically, that/ this said and having said that/ this originate in (already) syn-
tactically independent absolute clauses. That/ this said is also unusual among
comment clauses undergoing grammaticalization in showing expansion – to
38 An alternative development is the freezing of all I’m saying is or What I’m saying is and the
doubling of is (see note 14 and examples in 17).