Ryzyko kontynuacji. O niektórych właściwościach składnio wo- -semantycznych wyrażeń: itd., itp., etc., i in.
The risk of continuation. About certain semantic and syntactic features of Polish expressions: itd., itp., etc., i in.

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present remarks about syntactic and semantic features of Polish expressions: itd., itp., etc., i in., which are called “indicators of continuation”. The author shows that they have a different distribution. The appearance of a given indicator depends mainly on what kinds of objects are enumerated in the utterance. Presumably, their semantic content is not identical, as well. Nevertheless indicators of continuation share general semantic load: (i) they presuppose that it possible to enumerate more of the type of objects the speaker was talking about, (ii) they presuppose the enumerated objects are not random, (iii) they signal the speaker’s silence about what else could be enumerate and his/her silent call for completion of the utterance by the addressee. The paper presents also the logical consequences of using an indicator of continuation in the middle or fi nal position in a sentence. In the fi nal section the author discourages from using indicators of continuation in texts that should be precise, such as lexicographic defi nitions, as they introduce unwelcomed vagueness to an utterance.

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