Martin (1992: 377):
Predicting and referring to discourse is not simply a function of lexical items. Nuclear configurations are also used in this way; for example:
Before I begin, let me say…I'll stop here for questions…I'll conclude by summarising…Before going on to Chapter 6…etc.
Blogger Comments:
[1] The use of the term 'predicting' in this chapter confuses three distinct meanings. Here it is used in sense of a speaker referring to what is to come in the discourse. Previously it was used in the sense of instantial probabilities (selecting one lexical item 'predicts' certain others will likely follow). In the first instance, it was used in the sense of a hearer expecting an oncoming proposition — as in the example Becker's double faulting was unexpected in the field (p323).
[2] None of the nuclear configurations exemplifying the claim are identified.
