tv.um.es

Parenthetical expressions and pragmatic markers have been a particularly fruitful arena
for the study of language variation and change (see, for instance, Fischer 2007; LópezCouso & Méndez-Naya 2014; Brinton 2017). The present study centers on a relatively
recent innovation that remains unexplored: the pragmatic parenthetical spoiler alert,
illustrated in (1):
(1) Four orcas chase a penguin and spoiler alert, it doesn't end well.
(NOW:NZ:2020)
Speakers often wish to underscore the obvious nature of their statements, acknowledging
that the information they express is known, expected or self-evident. In doing so, they
may even resort to humorous, ironic or sarcastic expressions. In (1), spoiler alert fulfills
this role, as it is used as a humorous device to emphasize the obviousness of the host
clause under its scope.
This corpus-based study has two main aims. Firstly, it traces the history of this pragmatic
parenthetical, which originated as a disclaimer to warn readers of potential plot
revelations in online discussion forums about film and television:
(2) the following is a sample of what we received. (Spoiler alert! Many of the
following responses contain key plot points.) (COCA:News:2002)
Secondly, it explores the meanings and pragmatic functions that this expression has
acquired in the course of its brief history. Data for this study were drawn from COCA and
NOW. While the COCA data are used to trace the development of spoiler alert from
literal instances like (2) to parenthetical ones like (1), the NOW data are used to analyze
the functions of this new parenthetical in greater detail.
The corpus analysis shows that, despite its specialized origins in online discussion
forums, the expression has attained a remarkably wide dispersion, appearing as a
parenthetical across most written and spoken genres in COCA.
A close examination of the concordances reveals that the parenthetical itself has
undergone an important semantic shift. Spoiler alert was originally a warning expression,
which first acquired mirative extensions, i.e., meaning related to surprise and
unexpectedness (DeLancey 1997). As illustrated in (1), it then acquired assumed
evidential extensions, expressing evidence based on assumption, logical reasoning or
general knowledge (Aikhenvald 2004: 63). This shift from mirativity to assumed
evidentiality was brought about through pragmatic enrichment, as a result of ironic uses
of the parenthetical. In this latter sense, spoiler alert does not introduce surprising or
revealing information, but a predictable fact. Thus, in its evidential use, spoiler alert has
developed an interactional and intersubjective function, aimed at creating a humorous
effect, among other discourse functions.