Intensification is a means of indexing the speakers' perspective. This paper attempts to show the semantic development of particular intensifiers following Langacker's framework of subjectivity. In this framework, the focus lies on the way the conceptualizer construes an event or a situation as an observer or as an experiencer with degrees of…

Presents theoretical models of how language acts (1) as a dependent variable of how people subjectively construe situations and (2) as an independent variable creatively defining and redefining situations for those involved. Discusses the importance of developing an interdisciplinary model of language variation in its social context. (EKN)

Attempts to reconcile the similarities and differences among Philippine Creole Spanish (PCS) dialects by suggesting that Zamboangueno was formed gradually in a downward fashion from received Spanish, aided by two components. The first is pidginization that resulted in the Spanish garrison at Zamboanga, and the second was the arrival of Manila Bay…

Suggests that a sociopragmatic approach to the study of forms of address may shed new light on address behavior in general and on the use of forms of address in French and Dutch in particular. "Form of address" is used to encompass not only second-person singular pronouns, but also other devices that can be employed to make reference to…

This article investigates methodological problems involved in a discourse-centered exploration of societal ideologies, and in particular, in an ongoing research program studying publicly accessible discourse in a number of European countries related to interethnic conflicts, the construction of ethnic or national identities, and nation-building…