Doing pragmatics with style

Abstract Linguistic expressions of negation have been investigated from various perspectives: sociolinguistic variation, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. However, this linguistic phenomenon has received little attention in discourse studies. This corpus-pragmatic case study presents a systematic analysis of the use and functions of NOT-negation in oppositional discourse, specifically in the writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates. Methodologically, it combines a variationist approach and corpus-based discourse analysis. The findings, analyzed through the lens of audience design, reveal that Coates’s use of NOT-negation contributes to a conversational style of writing which can be interpreted as a strategy to maintain a dialogical flow of discourse.