7 ‘So very fast then’ Discourse Markers at Left and Right Periphery in Spoken French

Abstract

This chapter concerns the question whether the left and right peripheries (LP and RP) attract specific meanings. Is it the case that the two peripheries differ with respect to the communicative functions they fulfil, and consequently, differ with respect to the linguistic expressions they attract? Among the linguistic expressions that have been described as occurring typically in LP position (actually, initial position) are discourse markers (DMS). The chapter tackle the question on the basis of the study of two DMS in spoken French: alors ('then, at that time, so') and donc ('so'), both of which show a similarly high frequency in spontaneous face-to-face conversation, and which both occur most often at LP, but also regularly appear at RP. Specific studies of metadiscourse in spoken language, distinguish monologic, dialogic and interactive aspects, thus confirming both speaker-oriented and addressee-oriented expressions. Keywords: alors ; discourse markers (DMS); donc ; left periphery (LP); linguistic expressions; right periphery(RP); spoken French