ED 277 236 AUTHOR TITLE DOCUMENT RESUME FL 016 165 Tottie, Gunnel; Paradis, Carita From Function to Structure: Some Pragmatic Determinants of Syntactic Frequencies in Impromptu Speech. PUB DATE 82 NOTE 13p.; In: Enkvist, Nils Erik, Ed. Impromptu Speech: A Symposium. Papers Contributed to a Symposium on Problems in the Linguistic Study of Impromptu Speech (Abo, Finland, November 20-22, 1981); see FL 016 148. PUB TYPE Reports - Research/Technical (143) Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE 14F01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Discourse Analysis; English; Interaction; Language Research; Linguistic Theory; *Negative Forms (Language); *Oral Language; Pragmatics; Speech Acts; *Spontaneous Behavior; *Structural Analysis (Linguistics); *Syntax; Verbal Communication; *Word Frequency IDENTIFIERS *Spontaneous Speech 'ABSTRACT A study investigated the relatively greater frequency of negation in conversation than in written language. It discovered that rejections and explicit denials of previously asserted propositions, two categories of negation postulated to be speech-specific, accounted for cmly about 16 percent of all negatives. Use of negatives as supports, in direct questions and imperatives, and in repetitions accounted for 37 percent of the negatives. Work in progress suggests that factors such as the degree of interaction and the expression of modality and mental attitudes, which often co-occur with negation, may explain further the use of negation. (Author/MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************