Pseudo-hortative and the development of the discourse marker eti poca (‘well, let’s see’) in Korean

Abstract Hortative constructions are good sources of discourse markers (dms) because they have an engaging effect on the addressee. Such an engaging illocutionary effect enables hortative-based dms to acquire diverse functions, such as attracting and maintaining the addressee’s attention and foiling the interlocutor’s initiating an utterance. The dm eti poca (‘well, let’s see’; literally ‘where, let’s see’) is not a genuine hortative requesting the addressee to direct visual attention to something or somewhere together with the speaker, but is a strategic signal for management of interaction, information and the speaker’s self. The detailed functions that emerged through time include marking the speaker’s intent to hold the floor by way of filling unwanted pauses, to solicit common ground, to signal responsiveness, to encourage self to better concentrate on a task, and to affirm the self’s stance on the issues at hand.