The Grammar of the Old High German Modal Particles Thoh, Ia, and Thanne

• Author(s): Mary Michele Wauchope,
• Publisher: Peter Lang
• Pages: 203
• ISBN_10: 0820414905
  ISBN_13: 9780820414904
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Foreign Language Study / German , Foreign Language Study / Yiddish , Language Arts & Disciplines / General , Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference , Language Arts & Disciplines / Spelling & Vocabulary ,

Description:... This exhaustive study of a set of Old High German particles, thoh, ia, and thanne, focuses on the pragmatic functions of those particles. After categorizing modal particles - particles which indicate implicitly a speaker's relationship to or attitude toward his or her own discourse - as a subset of metacommunicative particles, the author argues convincingly that thoh, ia, and thanne exhibit modal particle functions in four Old High German texts: they point to a speaker's presuppositions and expectations, determine interlocutionary force, and convey connotations ranging from surprise to accusation.