Sekali, How And Lucky - Expressing Unexpectedness in Colloqial Singapore English

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine in detail the properties of a grammatical construction that I call the `sekali construction? in Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), using insights gained from the Construction Grammar and Grammaticalization frameworks. I show that the semantics of sekali crucially involve the concept of `unexpectedness?, where sekali is used to express an event not in line with an expected consequence of the preceding discourse. In addition, I study two related constructions in CSE ? how and lucky that similarly express unexpectedness, but differ in terms of the degree of adversity in the unexpectedness expressed. I argue that unexpectedness in CSE can be viewed as a spectrum of adversity where sekali is unspecified for adversity, while how and lucky take the specified and negatively specified positions respectively. Finally, by presenting evidence of similar structures in other languages, I suggest the possibility of considering unexpectedness as a subsystem of meaning making.