Managing interpersonal discourse expectations: a comparative analysis of contrastive discourse particles in Dutch

Abstract In this article we investigate how speakers manage discourse expectations in dialogue by comparing the meaning and use of three Dutch particles, i.e. wel , toch eigenlijk, which all express a contrast between their host utterance discourse-based expectation . The core meanings toch, eigenlijk are formally distinguished on basis two intersubjective parameters: (i) whether particle marks alignment or misalignment speaker addressee beliefs, (ii) requires an assessment addressee’s representation mutual beliefs. By means quantitative corpus study, to what extent distinctions reflected statistical usage patterns across different social situations. Results suggest that lexicalizations distinct generalized politeness strategies when expressing interaction. Our findings call for interdisciplinary approach particles order enhance our understanding functions language.