T. Nyan: Marginal cases

What constitutes the meaning of ‘discourse’ markers is not exhausted by commonalities arising from data that exclude marginal cases. This paper argues - on the basis of data from contemporary French - that taking into account a certain type of marginal cases – in particular those that elicit differing judgements of appropriateness - will further our understanding of these markers, in the sense that regularities of another kind can be expected to emerge, which would provide some clues as to what possessing the appropriate competence involves. This paper will also attempt to assess the descriptive implications of such a decision, in so far as ‘rules’, as more traditionally construed, cannot be expected to cater for this new situation. The important issue marginal cases raise concerns the level of methodological adjustment required to bridge the gap between the customary type of generalization and speakers’ linguistic knowledge, which, furthermore is subject to variation.