?
Kak že kak že! Russian discourse formula of confirmation as a marker of recognition
The chapter presents a case study of the repetition mechanism within the development of discourse formulae, i.e., multi-word formulaic replies similar to yes and no. It closely examines the process of pragmaticalization in the Russian formula Kak že! (‘how part’) and its duplicated counterpart. The diachronic corpus data shows that the formula Kak že! emerged from the rhetorical use of the interrogative construction Kak že [clause]? in negative contexts. The function it initially obtained was unequivocal confirmation (cf. English Of course!). Due to the frequent ironic uses, Kak že! acquired a second meaning of intensified negation and hence became enantiosemic. The further development of this formula involved the mechanism of repetition and resulted in a new formulaic unit Kak že kak že! The duplicated Kak že kak že! significantly increased in frequency and followed its own trajectory of semantic development. Its function shifted from simple confirmation to a more specialized marker of recognizing and remembering a person or an event. The historical development of Kak že kak že! demonstrates that repetition in discourse can be a driving force of diachronic change, along with other mechanisms such as irony or rhetorical questions. Moreover, it shows that the repetition and the semantic effects it entails are not only applicable to single lexemes but also to multi-word items if they were previously constructionalized. This suggests that the replies that frequently occur in discourse in a duplicated form are likely to evolve into new units with non-compositional meanings.