Sur ce, qu’en dit-on ?

Abstract

On the basis of the theoretical and methodological postulate stating that a difference in form correlates to a difference in meaning (and vice versa), we distinguish two uses of the adverbial phrase sur ce in contemporary French: one as a ‘conjunctive textual marker’ – illustrated by Il me laissait deux jours. Après quoi, l’agence aurait la visite de son homme de loi. Sur ce, il a raccroché – which appears in narratives texts and has a temporal and consecutive value (like juste après) announcing a sudden consequence (with a negative connotation) related to the facts reported in discourse; the other as a ‘discourse marker’ – illustrated by On pourrait même te donner des cours si tu voulais… Sur ce, bonsoir, bonne nuit et bonne année – which appears in conversational situations and has a temporal and definitive closure value enabling speakers to put an end to a conversation in a polite manner.

Keywords

• : sur ce
• textual marker
• discourse marker
• time
• consequence
• discursive closure
• connective