Investment in a model of stancetaking: I mean and just sayin

In this paper I argue for a perspective on stancetaking that relies on the notion that stance has three dimensions rather than the traditional two, adding the dimension of investment. My view of stancetaking takes stance to be an umbrella term for the related positions an interactional animator (in Goffman's 1981 sense) takes with respect to: the things referred to in the talk (a relationship of evaluation), the talk itself (a relationship of investment) and other people or things involved in the interaction (a relationship of alignment). I demonstrate that the dimension of investment in stancetaking explains the use of two discourse markers (just sayin(g) and I mean) more perspicaciously than, for example, separate notions of epistemic and interpersonal stance. In short, just sayin(g) lowers the investment of an utterance, while I mean intensifies it. Further, there are shifts in the use of both markers that move away from their original function, but the explanation for such shifts still benefits from appealing to the notion of investment.