"Die Sache ist...": Eine projektor-konstruktion im gesprochenen Deutsch

Abstract

This paper, focusing on die Sache ist-constructions in spoken German, is intended as a contribution to an interactional perspective on grammatical issues: It aims at connecting concepts of Construction Grammar with aspects of analyzing language use in its communicative praxis. Based on an empirical analysis of conversational German, this article shows that the standard view of die Sache ist-constructions as [matrix clause + subordinated complement clause] cannot be supported by actual data from spoken interactions. Instead of a subordinated complement clause following the matrix clause, speakers reanalyse die Sache ist ("segment A") as a projector phrase, anticipating the upcoming core message ("segment B"). Segment B ("the complement clause") overwhelmingly occurs with no complementizer dass 'that'. Instead it can take various forms in spoken interactions: it can be realized as a subordinate clause, a main clause, a complex clause and even as a larger discourse segment. In all these cases, it is no longer a conceptual element of segment A's proposition. Thus, a usage based approach of die Sache ist-constructions suggests that speakers use it as a projector-construction (Hopper) anticipating an upcoming utterance. © Walter de Gruyter.