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Emergent Syntax for Conversation: Clausal patterns and the organization of action
Edited by Yael Maschler, Simona Pekarek Doehler, Jan Lindström and Leelo Keevallik
[Studies in Language and Social Interaction 32] 2020
► pp. 127–150

Chapter 5
Emergent patterns of predicative clauses in spoken Hebrew discourse

The ha'emet (hi) she- ‘the truth (is) that’ construction

This study focuses on the Hebrew construction ha'emet (hi) she- ‘the truth (is) that’ in a corpus of informal audio and video conversation. Taking an interactional linguistics approach, I argue that the construction serves as a metalingual fragment constituting a projecting construction. Its employment is fixed and formulaic, it occurs at a moment of shift in the discourse and is used to project talk which does three kinds of social work: displaying the speaker’s stance; setting the record straight regarding the speaker’s personal world; and revealing delicate information. Each function emerges in a context-sensitive manner, revealing the relationship between the construction and its sequential position. Employment of the construction illustrates the ways grammar evolves from the interactions among conversational participants.

Keywords: projecting construction, Hebrew, predicative clause, routinization
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1Structural analysis – The ha'emet (hi) she- construction as a discourse marker
    • 3.2Functional analysis
      • 3.2.1Expressing the speaker’s opinion, stance or evaluation
      • 3.2.2Setting the record straight regarding the speaker’s personal world
      • 3.2.3Revealing personal, sensitive or delicate information
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 17 February 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slsi.32.05pol
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