Abstract
This paper considers some uses of Free Indirect Discourse within non-fictional discourse. It is shown that these differ from ordinary uses in that they do not attribute actual thoughts or utterances. I argue that the explanation for this is that these uses of Free Indirect Discourse are not assertoric. Instead, it is argued here that they are fictional uses, that is, they are used with fictional force like utterances used to tell a fictional story. Rather than making assertions about the actual world, these occurrences of Free Indirect Discourse introduce localized fictional scenarios from which audiences are meant to learn factual information. As such, they exhibit some of the ways in which the involvement of perspective in historical fiction has been shown to facilitate learning and retention of information.
Highlights
Ways of reporting speech and thought have long been studied in both philosophy and linguistics
Whereas it is clear that Direct Discourse (DD) and Indirect Discourse (ID) occur in both fictional and non-fictional discourse, Free Indirect Discourse (FID) has traditionally been associated with fictional discourse, or at least seen as a “literary style1.”
I have suggested that the non-assertoric uses of FID we have examined are fictional uses, that is, they are used with fictional force
Summary
Ways of reporting speech and thought have long been studied in both philosophy and linguistics. The chief aim of this paper is to account for two observations about occurrences of FID in non-fiction like those above They do not convey attributions or reports of actual thoughts or utterances. The fiction is about an actual person, Livy or Darwin, just as, for example, parts of War and Peace are about Napoleon3 While these uses of FID occur in non-fictional discourse, they attribute fictional thoughts or utterances to actual people. I propose that the occurrences of FID in non-fictional contexts under discussion can be seen as small-scale instances of historical fiction, and I comment on the consequences of such a view concerning learning factual information from these ways of reporting the thoughts and attitudes of historical figures
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