Quelques observations sur les emplois de ok en français contemporain à partir de textes écrits

Abstract

This contribution examines the use of French ok in an exclusively written corpus, drawn mainly from the Frantext database. Despite the paradox of studying a typical marker of spontaneous oral expression in predominantly literary written texts, many properties characteristic of the word emerge clearly from the study. Among them, one may observe a frequent context of tension between the interlocutors, which can be transferred to the marker itself, which signals a relatively low degree of agreement but still allows the easing of tensions, or the reorientation of the dialogue. It turns out that that minimal agreement adds a concessive value to the meaning of ok, which is manifested through various types of restrictions. The way that ok tends to be grammaticalized or lexicalized in interrogative expressions or at the beginning of a speaker’s turn is also shown in the study, as well as the great versatility of the marker, which earns it the status of a wildcard marker. All in all, ok is analyzed as a metapragmatic marker that contributes to the organization of the relationship between interlocutors.