The French Discourse Marker Mais Dame: Past and Present Functions

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique
• Main Authors: Butler, Gary R., King, Ruth
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
• Subjects: Linguistics and Language; Language and Linguistics; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s000841310000089x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S000841310000089X

Abstract We examine the evolution and current use of the French discourse marker mais dame , whose usage was first attested in Metropolitan French early in the 19th century. This expression has since fallen into disuse, to the point that many present-day Metropolitan French speakers do not even know it. We first determine the discourse functions of mais dame in literary texts (comedies and farces) from the 19th century. We then consider the use of mais dame in naturally occurring discourse, from conversational and narrative discourse with Newfoundland Franco-Acadians—descendants in part of 19th-century immigrants from France who speak a conservative variety of the language — who use the marker frequently. We find that the 19th-century literary usages anticipate the use of mais dame in Newfoundland French. Moreover, we show that mais dame plays an important role as an evaluative marker in oral narration.