Whales, Candlelight, and Stuff Like That

This innovative work provides the first comprehensive account of general extenders ("e;or something,"e; "e;and stuff,"e; "e;or whatever"e;). Combining insights from linguistics, cognitive psychology, and interactional sociolinguistics, the author demonstrates that these small phrases are not simply vague expressions, but have a powerful role in making interpersonal communication work. The audience for this book includes linguists, scholars of English, teachers of English as a first and a second language, sociolinguists, psycholinguists, and communications researchers.