Allocuzione, evidenzialità e (s)cortesia in italiano: uno studio diacronico sulla correlazione tra categorie con funzione pragmatica

In this paper, we aim to investigate the functional correlation among different linguistic categories (in a broad sense) in the pursuit of a given communicative purpose, and thus on the pragmatic level. We adopt an integrated model, so defined because it seeks to explore the interconnections among categories in interaction, while also taking into account multiple levels of discourse. From an empirical point of view, the paper illustrates the heuristic potential that can arise when correlating linguistic categories explored only independently until now with the pragmatic functions they can assume in context. Specifically, our research examines the range of pragmatically oriented functions developed by two constructions based on verbs of vision, namely guarda che… (“look that…”) and non vedi che…? (“don’t you see that…?”), analysed through a corpus-based approach. The analysis shows that the two constructions have developed meanings related to (im)politeness starting from a functional core that originally expressed other semantic-pragmatic values, such as allocution and evidentiality – a process of functional enrichment that points toward an ‘emergent’ understanding of (im)politeness as shaped by context, evolving over time, and susceptible to shifts in function and pragmatic interpretation.