Pragmatic particles as speech strategies: The case of leh and its tonal variants in Colloquial Singapore English

Abstract

This paper discusses the particle leh in Colloquial Singapore English, one of the least examined particles in the current literature. Our study shows that the particle leh has three tonal variants; each variant performs a specific discourse function, namely, as a marker of compromise, as a marker of speaker's intent and as a marker of assertion. It is proposed that the three variants should not be taken as independent particles, as some scholars have suggested, but as derivations from a single pragmatic core. Specifically, the particle leh is generally used to negotiate a proposition in conversational discourse, with each tonal variant representing one specific property of it in particular speech contexts. This study suggests that the pragmatics of the tonal variants of a single pragmatic particle can be traced back to a fundamental core, and the specific discourse functions of each variant are instantiations of this core in different contexts.