Complex adverbial constructions. The case of X-mais-comme-Y-Z in spoken French

Abstract

This contribution focusses on a complex adverbial pattern in spoken French. It will be argued that the pattern is used to manage inferences in interaction. Based on the analysis of different realizations of the pattern, the paper will show that it occurs in two (more or less sedimented) constructions. The first type is a responsive bipartite construction that a speaker may use to respond to locally emerging contingencies in talk-in-interaction, namely to cancel an ‘unwanted inference’ which has been alluded to by an interlocutor. The second type is a tripartite construction which is realized in a more monological fashion and towards which the speaker orients as a whole. This construction is used as a rhetorical device to create noteworthiness in conversation. Moreover, it will be argued that the rhetorical function rests on the speakers' mental simulation and invitation of their interlocutors' inferences.