Social factors affect quotative choice

Quotations in spontaneous conversation are introduced by quotatives such as say, be like, go and be all. In recent years, the use of say in the colloquial English of some speakers has plummeted, but not vanished. We tested what listeners thought different quotation devices meant, whether they reliably interpreted devices to mean those things, and how they used devices in spontaneous speaking. We demonstrate that say is used when reporting the words of a speaker of high status or when retelling quotations to a listener of high status. We discuss how the devices used to introduce quotations reflect not only the relationship between the speaker and what is being reported, but also the relationship between the speaker and the addressee.

► We investigated the functional differences between the devices say and be like.
► Social-context-centered proposals and quotation-centered proposals were investigated.
► Different devices did not signal differences in emotionality or faithfulness.
► Participants believed status to be a distinguishing factor.
► Quotee status and addressee status affected the rate of device use.