Phraseology and Culture in English

Karin Aijmer 
(18) Hello David Cornish here of Young Building in London. I received a 
message that you would like us take a Swedish student for the week of the 
18
th
of March. I’m afraid we’re fully booked with many pupils that week 
and can’t help. Thank you. (Surrey) 
Thank you was also used after a request (there is something to say ‘thank 
you’ for). In the London-Lund Corpus, thanking occurred only after a pre-
vious request, thanking the intended recipient for complying with the re-
quest:
(19) 
AH ^give me a !t\ime when 'I can 'contact :h/im#. 
AH ^at . 'University 'College :L\ondon# - 
AH ^th/\ank you#
(9.3 
238–240) 
In (20) the speaker expresses gratitude both in the request and in the clos-
ing signal: 
(20) I would be grateful if you could telephone me this afternoon in con-
necting with Professor Warmleg’s typescript 
Thank you (Surrey) 
The closings range from no closing at all to very elaborate ones: 
thanking+farewell+thanking
(21) so I think that’s what you need to know I’m our for a little while this 
morning but I’m back in at about eleven o’clock so I shall be in from then 
onward if I’m needed thanks ever so much and thank you for your help and 
all the rest of it so if you need me I’ll be in after eleven o’clock thanks ever 
so much bye bye now thanks (Surrey) 
gratitude+apology+farewell
(22) I’ll collect later if you could guard them for me now I’d be very grate-
ful. Sorry about that. Bye bye. (Surrey) 
Thank you is used both to express gratitude and as a closing signal. The 
message below ends with a well-wish: 
thanking, …., thanking + well-wish

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Idiomaticity in a cultural and activity type perspective
343
(23) Oh Silvia. It’s Sam Ward ringing to say I have not yet received a re-
claim for my expenses form so I wonder if you could organise it for me. 
Thank you Sam. My address is… Thanks. Have a good Easter. (Surrey) 
There were differences between the two corpora. Looking forward to 
seeing you was for instance only used in the Surrey material while end of 
message occurred only in the LLC. The most important difference is that 
the Surrey material used more elaborate strategies made up of combina-
tions.
We also find confusion between different strategies, as in (24). The per-
son leaving the message says thank you, which indicates that there is an 
addressee one thanks and ‘end of message’, which suggests a high degree 
of finality and does not express the wish to establish rapport with the re-
ceiver of the message. 
(24) 
AE [@: i] if [@] ^Mr !L\essin# 
AE and Pro^fessor :F\ord would 'like to 'get 
AE tog/ether# . 
AE a^bout (('syll syll s=yll))# 
AE they will be ^able to 'sort it {\out} be'tween 
AE thems\elves# . 
AE thank ^y\ou# .
AE ^\end of m/essage#
(9.3 
48–53) 
That’s all has got its literal meaning and functions as a way of closing 
the conversation abruptly: 
(25) 
AZ I ^think it((s)) [@:] 'might be :\/useful# - 
AZ ^for . [@:] the !staff at l/east# 
AZ [@:] to ^have !\/access [@] {to ^this b/ook#}# . 
AZ if ^\only to 'find /out# . 
AZ ^where our st/udents# 
AZ ^get their 'bad i:d\eas 'from# - - 
AZ [@:] ^th\at`s all 'thank you 'very ":m/uch#
(9.3 
647–653) 
In example (26) we find a conventional closing from letter writing to-
gether with thanking. The strategy is appropriate in personal letters and is 

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344
Karin Aijmer 
used on the answering machine in competition with other closing markers. 
The speaker uses a routinized closing phrase (‘all good wishes’) followed 
by the closing formula yours ever and self-identification. The message ends 
by thanking: 
(26) 
AF to in:vesti'gate [@:] 'this 'alleg\ation# - - 
AF ^\all good w=ishes# . 
AF ^y\ours /ever# . 
AF [@:] ^Simon L\essin# - - - 
AF "^thank you very m\uch#
(9.3 
146–150) 
Phrases introduced by ‘looking forward to…’ are associated with writing: 
(27) 
BL ^but . I 'would g\uess# . 
BL ^that it will be a'round :th\irty# - 
BL ^looking 'forward :very m\uch# . 
BL to ^seeing {y\ou} . to!m\orrow# - 
BL 
^goodb\ye# (9.3 783–87) 
(28) 
BY ^looking 'forward to [s] :h/earing 'from you# - 
BY ^thank y/ou#
(9.3 
1100–1101) 
Hope all is going well is another strategy borrowed from letter writing: 
(29) 
BI I`m ^not quite 'sure 'when I`ll be :b\/ack# - 
BI ^possibly [@:m] tom/orrow# 
BI or ^certainly by W\ednesday# - 
BI 
^\anyway#
BI ^hope 'all is 'going w\ell#
(9.3 
743–47) 
As in telephone calls various pre-closing signals (right, OK, anyway)
can be used in addition to closing. Pre-closing and closing occur together in 
the same turn without any possibility of feedback: 
(30) 
AG but I ^think I m\ust# . 
AG [@] - ^honour my o:r\iginal# . 

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345
AG [@] pro^p\/osal# 
AG and ^put [dhi] !th\/ird year 'chaps# 
AG [@:] . ^on [@] 'Tuesday . [@] at tw\elve# . 
AG 
^r\ight#
AG ^thank you 'very m\uch# - 
AG 
^goodb=ye#
(9.3 
204–211)