Verbum Dicendi

A verbum dicendi (or declaratory word) is a word that expresses speech, introduces a quotation, or marks a transition to non-standard or non-grammatical speech. Typically it is a verb, e.g. "say", "avow", "claim", etc. Occasionally, it may take the form of a copulative phrase, as in the colloquial sentence He 'was like "Turn down the music!", and I was all' "No way!". A verbum dicendi may theoretically take any form, provided that it introduces a quote or paraphrase. In some forms of informal English, it may even take the form of an action verb like "go", as in a sentence like So John 'goes' "This sandwich is too big!" A verbum dicendi may sometimes be used to obliquely introduce an ideophone or other non-standard word. For example, in the sentence The rabbit 'goes' hippety-hop, the word "goes" is a verbum-dicendi.

 

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