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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | 'Mos' as a discourse marker in rural Cape Afrikaans |
Authors: | Jantjies, Wesley Van Dulm, Ondene |
Year: | 2012 |
Periodical: | Language Matters: Studies in the Languages of Africa (ISSN 1022-8195) |
Volume: | 43 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 3-20 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | Afrikaans language dialects grammar |
Abstract: | This article aims to characterize 'mos' as a discourse marker (DM), and to explore its pragmatic functions in the discourse of speakers of non-standard Afrikaans. Through an analysis of the functions of the use of 'mos' in conversational data collected among nine rural speakers of so-called 'Cape Afrikaans', spoken in South Africa, 'mos' is shown to fulfil a number of criteria drawn from the relevant literature by which an item may be characterized as a DM. In particular, 'mos' is seen to function in relating segments of discourse, creating coherence in narratives, expressing logical and causal links, indicating a speaker's position with regard to a proposition, constructing an argument, managing shared information, and signalling a comment on a proposition. It is shown that the DM 'mos' has a wide range of functions in the discourse of rural speakers of Cape Afrikaans. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract] |