Delimitation of Utterances, Polyphony and Argumentation: Some Considerations on an "Awful Problem"

The following article analyses interrelations between the phenomena of linguistic polyphony and argumentation. It discusses linguistic structures that can form utterances and argues in favor of limiting the domain of polyphony to the utterance level, excluding broader text-level structures. In the second part of the article, some pairs of argumentative functions -- argument-conclusion, argument-reinforcement, argument-attenuation and argument-suggestion of indisputability -- are analyzed on the basis of authentic French examples, and the role of the polyphonic structure of such functional units is discussed in detail to provide evidence for a multifaceted relationship among argumentation, delimitation of utterances, and polyphony. In particular, the co-oriented argumentative structures in the sense of Ducrot (argument-conclusion and argument-reinforcement) are generally realized by monophonic linguistic structures, while the effect of an attenuating element on the argument depends on the local utterance borders and the suggestion of indisputability often correlates with a specific type of polyphony associated with the presence in the argument of a point of view provided by a discourse entity different from the speakers as such. Adapted from the source document