The russian discourse marker “to bish” (“that is”): early pragmaticalizaion and modern usage

Abstract

The paper discusses functioning of the Russian discourse marker “to bish” (“that is”). From the moment of its appearance in written texts, “to bish” is used as a pragmaticalized unit, the main functions of which is the introduction of explanation or elaboration on the previous part of the utterance. Lexicographers describe “to bish” as a substandard form; however, the analysis of corpus data demonstrates its active use not only in spoken discourse, but also in texts of various genres. The appearance of “to bish” in an utterance means that the speaker makes an alternative reference to or describes an object or a situation in different words. Historical dynamics of the use of the discourse marker “to bish” was analyzed across seven chronological strata. The data was obtained from the Russian National Corpus. The main aim of the analysis is to show the dynamics of functional load on the marker and to explain what makes the speaker use alternative ways of reference in on utterance. The paper also discusses semantic relations between two references or alternative descriptions in the utterance. The analysis of corpus data allows us to make conclusions about referential choices of speakers, which are often made in the interests of the addressee.