The Many Functions of Formulaic Sequences

In the course of Chapter 4, we found that while most types of formulaic sequence appear to play a role in alleviating the speaker's processing effort, this is far from the whole story. Scripted weather forecasts indicate that formulaicity can be present where there are no pressures on the speaker's production, if there are particular pressures on the hearer's comprehension. It also seems likely that much stylistic repetition is dedicated to aiding the hearer's decoding, by directing attention and reinforcing particular aspects in the content. Formulaic discourse markers seem able to support both the speaker's and the hearer's processing simultaneously. By mapping out the structure of the text, they help the speaker to remain focussed, while making the content and the speaker's intentions easier for the hearer to follow. Another major role for formulaic sequences was found to be that they signalled the speaker's identity as an individual or as a member of a group. Finally, we identified a large set of formulaic sequences whose primary role is to manipulate the hearer into a desired action or perception. In total, then, the evidence in Chapter 4 presents a very mixed picture. There seem to be several roles for formulaic sequences, neither mutually exclusive nor obviously compatible. Many appear to relate to the speaker, but some are partly, or even exclusively, geared towards the interests of the hearer.