Xeno-markers in Slavic languages: corpus and discourse data
- DOI
- 10.5922/2225-5346-2026-2-5
- Pages
- 96-117
Abstract
The article presents a comparative study of xenopointers, understood as pragmatic markers of reported or attributed speech, across contemporary Slavic languages. These units constitute an important part of discourse organisation, as they encode speakers’ metacommunicative reflection and strategies for representing an external or distanced voice. While individual markers have been extensively described within specific linguistic traditions, their cross-Slavic typological analysis remains insufficiently systematised. The study aims to identify and classify lexical xenopointers in major Slavic languages and to establish their functional and pragmatic correspondences. The research is based on a corpus-driven discourse approach that combines quantitative analysis of parallel and monolingual corpora with qualitative examination of contextual usage. Special attention is given to translated literary texts, which provide a suitable basis for multilingual comparison and for tracing translation strategies involving pragmatic markers. The analysis demonstrates that lexical xenopointers are attested in all examined Slavic languages, including those in which evidentiality is primarily expressed through grammatical means. The study reveals both shared typological patterns and language-specific differences in the etymology, distribution, and pragmatic scope of these markers, as well as considerable variability in their translational equivalents. The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between evidentiality, quotativity, and epistemic modality in discourse and offer new empirical insights for corpus pragmatics and cross-linguistic research.