Kovbasko Y. Structure, Semantics, Pragmatics of the Tag Question: Synchronic and Diachronic Aspects

This dissertation focuses on the complex synchronic and diachronic study of structure, semantics and pragmatics of the tag question in the system of the English language. The place of tags in the question macroparadigm has been elucidated, the structural paradigm of the tag question has been worked out, its subparadigms and microparadigms have been distinguished, the syntactical structure of the main constituent and tag has been examined. Within the diachronic analysis the structure of tag questions from the 16th up to the early 21st century has been outlined with regard to qualitative and quantitative changes that have taken place during this period. Integration of functional semantic, morphological and punctuation approaches has enabled to single out parcelled tag questions. Explicit and implicit types of tag questions, which perform cooperative and confrontational pragma-semantic and discourse functions, have been established.