"“Not gonna lie, that’s a real bummer” – The usualization of the pragmatic marker 'not gonna lie'

Benker, Nicole (2025): "“Not gonna lie, that’s a real bummer” – The usualization of the pragmatic marker 'not gonna lie'. Languages, 10 (8): 186. ISSN 2226-471X

Abstract

This study is concerned with the formal and functional development of the pragmatic marker 'not gonna lie'. It comprises a detailed investigation into the usage and development of 'not gonna lie' in American English. This study shows that not gonna lie develops from the clause 'NP BE not going to lie to NP'. From its earliest attestations onward, the marker
occurs in contexts carrying face threats, which points towards face-threat mitigation as its main function. This discourse function can only be observed for variants with first-person subjects and you in the prepositional phrase (if present). The later omission of elements
through the course of the development indicates an increase in syntactic autonomy. The remaining chunk, 'not gonna lie', leaves little room for variability and is dominated by its discursive function. The findings are interpreted through the lens of usualization as described in the Entrenchment-and-Conventionalization Model. This dynamic, usage-based
and cognitive model of language use and change lends itself to providing a fine-grained description and explanation of the grammaticalization-like processes observed in this case study.

• Dokumententyp: Artikel (LMU)
• Organisationseinheit (Fakultäten): 13 Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften > Department 1
• DFG-Fachsystematik der Wissenschaftsbereiche: Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 491502892