From a conditional marker to a discourse marker: The uses of dehua 的话 in natural Mandarin conversation

Abstract

This paper investigates two interrelated uses of the utterance-final form dehua in Mandarin Chinese, its the conditional marker use and the discourse marker use. While the conditional function of dehua has been widely recognized, its newly emerging discourse functions have not yet received much attention. Thus, this study first provides a detailed characterization of the two uses from the structural and semantic–pragmatic perspectives. It argues that dehua differs from regular Mandarin conditional markers because it marks both realis and irrealis protases. This ability is the result of generalized conversational implicatures from conditional contexts. Second, this paper establishes a connection between the two uses of dehua, providing a synchronic account for its development from a conditional marker to a discourse marker. It argues that dehua is essentially a boundary marker, indicating the boundary of protases as a conditional marker and the boundary of various types of intonation units as a discourse marker. This final position is demonstrated to shape the discourse functions of dehua in crucial ways. By studying dehua in natural conversations, this paper sheds light on its development pathway from a conditional marker to a discourse marker in general. It also contributes to the understanding of the diversity of discourse markers as well as the ways in which form and functions interact.