A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE ...

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv
1.0 Introduction and background .........................................................................................1
1.1 The language ..........................................................................................................3
1.2 Why study Ojibwe discourse markers ....................................................................5
1.3 Methodology ..........................................................................................................8
1.4 Orthography ..........................................................................................................10
2.0 What is a discourse marker? ........................................................................................16
2.1 Schiffrin’s definition of discourse markers ..........................................................18
2.2 Relevance theorists’ view of discourse markers ...................................................30
2.3 Cross-linguistic data .............................................................................................38
2.3.1 Position ......................................................................................................39
2.3.2 Clitics and affixes ......................................................................................43
2.3.3 TAM (tense-aspect-mode) systems .............................................................46
2.3.4 Simultaneous textual and interpersonal functions of discourse markers ...48
2.4 Defining discourse markers ..................................................................................52
3.0 Ojibwe Discourse Markers ..........................................................................................62
3.1 Discourse connectives ..........................................................................................63
3.1.1 Initial position .............................................................................................63
3.1.1.1 inashke ..............................................................................................64
3.1.1.2 miinawaa ..........................................................................................73
3.1.1.3 onzaam .............................................................................................83
3.1.1.4 dibishkoo ..........................................................................................87
3.1.1.5 mii dash ............................................................................................90
3.1.2 Second position ..........................................................................................97
3.1.2.1 idash as a contrastive marker ...........................................................98
3.1.2.1.1 Digressions ...........................................................................107
3.1.2.1.2 Backgrounding and foregrounding ......................................111
3.1.2.1.3 idash in adjacency pairs .......................................................114
3.1.3 Preverbs .............................................................................................115
3.1.3.1 Relative preverb izhi ...............................................................115
3.2 Mystery particles ............................................................................................... 120
3.2.1 Initial position ..........................................................................................121
3.2.1.1 mii as a veridical marker ................................................................121
3.2.1.2 mii as a command softener ............................................................128
3.2.1.3 awenh, inenh ..................................................................................129
3.2.1.4 aaniish ...........................................................................................130
3.2.2 Second position mystery particles ............................................................135
v