“Saying thes woordes or the lyke”

Abstract

This chapter examines the forms and functions of speech representation in Early Modern English correspondence using corpus-based methods. It considers how the sociopragmatic properties of speech representation are shaped by the communicative context of letter-writing, and identifies key similarities and differences with speech representation in other early modern genres. Using a sixteenth-century subset of the Parsed Corpus of Early English Correspondence, the analysis focusses on speech representation framed by the two most frequent quotatives: SAY and ANSWER. The results suggest that speech representation in letters anticipates the practices of later written genres, such as news reporting, as well as displaying characteristics associated with speech representation in spoken genres, such as conversation. Speech representation in correspondence has a predominantly interpersonal function, linked to values associated with report faithfulness, dramaticality, and the source authority. Reporting practices are informed both by the conventions of the genre and the immediate situation of the letter-writer.