Initial "Ands" are very common in older English texts like Malory's "Morte D'arthur", where it often functions in the same manner as "Then", at least sometimes. In modern literature, especially in "fantasy" and such genres, it is often used as a means of conveying a "ye olde" sound to the writing. Hodgson's "The Dark Land", for example
----- Original Message -----
From: Ronnie Sim
To: Jlsperanza ; relevance
Cc: george_huttar
Sent: March 15, 2003 8:16 AM
Subject: Re: Initial 'And'
And there is a very well-known Christian hymn which starts off
"And can it be that I should gain ..... " It is Charles Wesley's -- read the rest for yourself. Inspite of what many diverse authorities would say, initial and occurs!
George needs to do some analysis, and propose an explanation of it. George, post your findings when your discoveries warrant it.
Ronnie S
----- Original Message -----
From: Jlsperanza@aol.com
To: relevance@linguistics.ucl.ac.uk
Cc: george_huttar@sil.org
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2003 4:04 PM
Subject: Initial 'And'
The Initial 'And' That Wasn't.
Fw: query: discourse-initial 'and'
From the LINGUIST List: Vol-14-687. Mon Mar 10 2003. ISSN: 1068-4875.
Home Page: http://linguistlist.org/
-- begin forwarded message.
Date: 9 Mar 2003
From: "George Huttar" <george_huttar@sil.org>
Subject: query: discourse-initial 'and'
Can anyone suggest bibliography treating discourse-initial use of
'and', whether in poetry or in ordinary conversation? It appears to
suggest a tie to something assumed to be knopwn by both speaker and
hearer. Does this come under echoic utterances, or
metarepresentation? Or...?
Thanks. I'll post a summary if replies warrant it.
George Huttar
george_huttar@sil.org
NEGST
Box 24686
00502 Karen
Nairobi
Kenya
---end forwarded message.
Well, I hope it's something pragmatic, since "&p" is not even well-formed in logic, is it (So much for Strawson's _Introduction to Logical Theory_ and Grice's 'Logic and Conversation'). There is this famous song (refrain),
"And when I told them
How beautiful you were --
they didn't believe me..."
-- Vanessa Redgrave sings it in film _Agatha_ --. Of course, there is a _verse_ behind, which due to my musicological research I am hereby able to provide for the sake of relevance, and which goes:
"Got the cutest little way
Like to watch you all the day.
And it certainly seems fine
Just to think that you'll be mine.
When I see your pretty smile
Makes the living worth the while.
So I've got to run around
Telling people what I've found."
[singer bursts into refrain]
"AND when I told them..."
-- learn more from this famous little song at http://www.musicals101.com/1910bway.htm.
Cheers,
JL
J L Speranza
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