Abstract
We present new interpretations of “direct” and “indirect” speech, framed entirely using simple and cross-translatable words and phrases (Goddard and Wierzbicka 2014), i.e. framed in language which can be transparent both to linguists and to the speakers whose ways of speaking we are trying to understand. In relation to “direct speech”, we present linguistic generalisations about two forms of quoted speech, which, we claim, are very likely to be found in all languages of the world. We next examine the semantics of logophoric constructions in West African languages. We look in some detail at Goemai, which has been claimed by Dixon (2006) to have “no direct speech”. Based on Birgit Hellwig’s (2006, 2011) work, we argue that logophoric constructions in Goemai are forms of direct speech on any reasonable, semantically-based definition. We conclude that direct speech is a language universal. The final part of the paper is about “indirect speech”, focusing on the English ‘say that’ construction. An overall theme of our paper is that specialised and hybrid forms of reported speech, including logophoric speech, reflect cultural concerns and practices.
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Notes
- 1.
It could be objected that our analysis of ji as ‘I (he said)’ and doe, as ‘I (she said)’ depends on a lexical distinction between ‘he’ and ‘she’, which Goemai doesn’t have. Among non-logophoric pronouns there is a gender distinction only in 2sg, not in 3sg. This matter requires further investigation. One possibility is that it is the reported speaker’s status as a man or as a woman which is being indexed, rather than gender per se. If so, paraphrases such as ‘I (this someone, a man, said)’ and ‘I (this someone, a woman, said)’ would be appropriate.
- 2.
Is it strictly true that there is no reported speech in Goemai which preserves the original speaker’s ‘I’ (and ‘you’) in a plain, non-logophoric form? For example, when God says to Moses in the Bible: “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:14), is it not possible for the words ‘I’ and ‘you’ to be given in their plain, non-logophoric form? We turned with this question to Birgit Hellwig, and received the following reply (p.c. 18/07/2017): “I just checked. There’s only a translation of the Gospel of Mark, but it seems that equivalent passages are always rendered as direct speech with 1sg, e.g. in Mark 12:26, Hen ta Naan mmuk Abaraham. Naan mmuk Aizik, nda Naan mmuk Jekop. [1sgemph God of Abraham. God of Isaac and God of Jacob.]” If so, Goemai does have a mode of “direct speech” in which the original speaker’s ‘I’ is preserved in form as well as in meaning, albeit that it may be limited in use. The matter requires further investigation.
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Acknowledgements
Our thanks go to Birgit Hellwig for information about Goemai (of course, she is not bound to agree with our semantic interpretation). We also thank Rachel Thompson for discussion of Ewe and Yuko Kinoshita for discussion of Japanese.
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Goddard, C., Wierzbicka, A. (2019). Direct and indirect speech revisited: Semantic universals and semantic diversity. In: Capone, A., García-Carpintero, M., Falzone, A. (eds) Indirect Reports and Pragmatics in the World Languages. Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78771-8_9
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