These constructions revolve around four adverbial elements (al massimo, al limite, tutt'al più and caso mai) that have other functions besides the dubi-tative-corrective one. This paper investigates the properties of a set of poorly described Italian constructions characterized, at the same time, by (i) a dubitative component, challenging a presupposition generated by the preceding context and (ii) a corrective function. dedicated markers overtly encoding the beginning of a digression, exist (ii) that they may develop further functions in which digression is not at stake (topic shifting, additive focus marking, turn taking) and (iii) that they may be recruited to serve these new functions mostly for politeness reasons: since changing topic implies some discontinuity that requires the hearer’s attention, marking a topic shift by means of a marker originally used to signal the beginning of a digression allows the speaker/writer to be less blunt and to soften the transition to the new topic. The analysis will show (i) that contrary to Pons Bordería & Estellés Arguedas (2009), digressive markers, i.e. Such changes were followed by an increase in subjectification and intersubjectification, whereby tra parentesi acquired new functions as a focus marker and as a turn-taking device. The expression has also developed other uses in which digression is not at stake, such as topic shifting. It is used both in written and spoken texts as a strategy to signal a slight digression from the main topic, in which secondary, non-central information is presented.

Tra parentesi is the verbalization of the punctuation mark. This paper aims to investigate the uses and functions of the phrasal adverb tra parentesi (literally ‘in brackets’) in present-day Italian.

Opening moves cosimo yap