Quotational nicknames in German at the interface between syntax, punctuation, and pragmatics

Abstract

Abstract The paper is concerned with a particular nickname construction in German in which a linguistic expression is inserted between the given name and surname and enclosed by quotation marks (Johanna „Hansi“ Angermeier) or parentheses (Ursula (Uschi) Vollmuth). The apparent interchangeability of quotation marks and parentheses in the construction raises the question of the exact meaning of the (variants of the) construction and what the respective punctuation marks contribute to this meaning. The aim of the paper is to develop a comprehensive account of the variation by unfolding the complex interplay between syntax, punctuation, and pragmatics in the meaning constitution of the construction. Based on a close linguistic analysis of examples from a corpus of death notices and supplemented by recent graphematic and pragmatic accounts on punctuation marks, the view is developed that the choice of quotation marks and parentheses is governed by two different, independent processes which partly overlap in the construction. While both quotation marks and parentheses play a role in marking an underlying parenthetical structure, quotation marks are richer in meaning, triggering an additional context shift effect and further conversational implicatures. The analysis lends support to the view that parentheses are boundary signals operating on syntactic structure, while quotation marks are boundary signals operating on the meaning of linguistic expressions.