104
Modern English Only and If Only
A fi nal way in which conjunctive only can be seen as a pragmatic marker is
that it contributes to “negative politeness ” (Brown and Levinson 1987 ), which
is the speaker’s respect for the hearer’s desire not to be impeded or imposed
upon. Negative politeness consists in deference, self- effacement, restraint, and
avoidance. Thus, if we consider example (1c) (repeated below), we see that it is
deferential initially to express agreement with the hearer (or with the hearer’s
assumed point of view or with generally held views) and only then to reject
some of the assumptions of the statement:
( 1 ′ ) c. He is a very nice man, only he talks too much (Jespersen 1949 : 95)
This strategy is more deferential than the reverse, namely, expressing disagree-
ment with some of the assumptions of the argument followed by general agree-
ment, e.g., He talks too much, though he is a very nice man.
As a matter of comparison, a detailed study of adversative but in Modern
English (Altenberg 1986 ) has shown that over half of the uses in oral discourse
have pragmatic functions, both interpersonal (introducing a turn- initial object,
sometimes following a mark of agreement or a polite “disarmer”) and textual
(shifting or resuming topic).
4.3 The Development of Only
4.3.1 The Rise of Conjunctive Uses
The extension in the use of only from its adverbial and adjectival functions to a
conjunctive function seems to be a rather recent phenomenon. The OED cites
two Middle English examples (c1384, a1425), but there is then a gap in the
citations until 1579. The MED cites the same two examples as the OED plus
an example from John of Trevisa (a1398). In the Chaucerian corpus and in the
Middle English section of the HC, only is used frequently as a focusing adverb
and conjunctively with the sense of ‘except’ in the collocations but only , save
only , and except only. Here it seems that only is serving as an emphasizer or
intensifi er, while but , save , or except carries the conjunctive force. Only never
functions as a conjunction on its own:
(11) a. we may do no thyng but oonly swich thyng as we may doon rightfully
(1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT B.Mel. 1383)
‘we may do nothing except such things as we may rightfully do’
b. þe chapellys hauyng & mynystryng alle sacramentys, except only cris-
tenyng & purifi cacyons (a1438 The book of Margery Kempe I, 58 [HC])
‘the chapels having and ministering all sacraments except only christening
and purifi cations’
c. The.xxij. day ys on- gracyus to begynne ony werke vp- on, saue only to bye
and to selle (c1450 Metham, Days of the moon 153 [HC])