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Tracing the semantic development of Hebrew clicks

ORCiD logo with link | University of Haifa
ORCiD logo with link | University of Haifa
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Abstract
This paper describes six functions of clicks in Hebrew interaction, some of which have also been identified in other languages: frame-shifting at discourse unit boundaries; signaling word searches; expressing negative affect; negating statements or implications thereof. Two new functional categories are introduced: marking other-repair (only clicks involving self-repair have been described so far), and indicating ‘oblique responses’, a type of dispreferred response. Clicks in different functions exhibit different degrees of liminality/conventionalization. This, and the considerable overlap between functions, is proposed as evidence for diachronic development over a semantic map, explaining why clicks perform a similar range of functions in unrelated languages around the world.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous research on non-phonemic clicks
    • 2.1Clicks in turn- and sequence-management
    • 2.2Affective stance-taking clicks
    • 2.3Negating clicks
    • 2.4Additional functions
  • 3.Data and methodology
  • 4.Functions of Hebrew clicks
    • 4.1Frame-shifting clicks: A summary of previous findings
    • 4.2Word search clicks
    • 4.3Repair clicks
      • 4.3.1Self-repair
      • 4.3.2Other-repair
    • 4.4Oblique response clicks
    • 4.5Affective stance-taking clicks
    • 4.6Negating clicks
  • 5.Quantitative findings
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Drawing a semantic map by comparison to other lexemes
    • 6.2Plotting the development of clicks upon the semantic map
    • 6.3Grammaticization, subjectification, and areal influence
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • Author queries
  • References
References (106)
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