On the pragmatic development of modal particles in Navarrese-Lapurdian Basque. Hori emain ote nauzu?
Studies at the Grammar-Discourse Interface. Discourse markers and discourse-related grammatical phenomena : 57-76 (2021)
Abstract
The grammaticalisation of modal particles has mainly been focused on their source and historical development. This article deals with the ongoing pragmatic extension of the epistemic particle ote in the Navarrese-Lapurdian dialect. When used in questions, this particle has traditionally expressed that the speaker believes that none of the potential denoted responses will have the necessary strength of commitment and, therefore, no answer is expected. Based on the fact that questions containing ote are felt as less direct and that the particle minimises the interrogative force, speakers of such dialect have reinterpreted the use of ote as a resource to reduce the expectancy and directiveness of information seeking questions where the speakers hope to receive a response.