REPORTING SPEECH AND THOUGHT
SUMMARY
1 Speakers report the utterances of other speakers, or their own, in one of two ways: either directly by ‘direct reported speech’ (also known as ‘quoted speech’), or indirectly by ‘indirect reported speech’. Thought processes can also be reported. Quoted speech supposedly repeats the exact words spoken, whereas indirect speech reporting gives the content or even only the gist of what was said.
2 Verbs of saying and of thinking are used to introduce direct speech and thought, respectively. Idiomatic uses of the verbs go and be like are also used by some speakers as alternatives to verbs of saying.
3 Indirect reporting of speech (traditionally known as ‘indirect speech’ ) reports the content of statements, questions and directives. A number of formal adjustments are made, referred to as ‘backshift’, which shift deictic elements away from the speech situation to the reported situation.
4 In fictional dialogue, and to a lesser extent in conversation, a wide variety of reporting verbs occur, many not strictly verbs of speaking, which aim to convey such features as speaker’s stance, voice quality and speech-act force.
5 In addition, and in order to give the reader the illusion of entering a character’s mind, writers of fiction combine features of quoted and reported speech to produce the varieties known as ‘free direct speech’ and ‘free indirect speech’.
