« C’est dire » : sur les traces de la formation d’un marqueur discursif

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to approach the sequence c'est dire, first, from a diachronic point of view, in order to trace the stages of its grammaticalization. We will see how the oldest values of c'est dire, that is first used as a verbal matrix of the utterance (strong valency), and takes a rephrasing value at a later stage, which is then tinged with intensification, are preserved to a certain extent, and how it is modified, in the last stage of its evolution and formation as a discourse marker. Finally, we will describe its semantic-pragmatic properties and highlight the properties that allow us to classify it as a discourse marker.