UDC

811.111

Authors

Belous Tatyana Viktorovna
Institute of Philology and Cross-Cultural Communication,
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov
7 Smolnyy Buyan, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
e-mail: t.belous@narfu.ru

Abstract

Interjections rather frequently become the subject of the modern linguistic research, especially in the field of pragmatics. In these studies interjections are often called discourse markers and backchannels. These terms are used to designate a heterogeneous set of forms which are difficult to place within a traditional word class. They may be considered interjections, adverbs, particles or function words. In this article we will attempt to undertake a complex study of the interjection oh by means of pragmatic and cognitive analysis. Oh is studied in the adjacency pairs which have been found in E. Wharton’s prose. The article will show that oh is most frequently found in the turn initial position. In question/answer adjacency pairs oh-prefaced responses indicate that the question is unexpected to the speaker. In assessment/response sequences the majority of the oh-prefaced responses turn out to be emotive. Besides, oh prefaces self-initiated and other initiated repairs. In oh-prefaced agreements oh indexes the authority of the speaker and his/her epistemic independence. Oh in an isolated position is found in just a few cases. Here the main function of oh is emotive. In conclusion we claim that the main function of oh is the expressive one: it signals the emotional and mental processes which take place in the discourse. Besides, it operates in the action sphere of the discourse: it ensures the coherence of the discourse, thus performing the phatic function.

Keywords

interjection “oh”, functions of interjections, expressive function of interjections, response, repair

References

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