G. Bush, You know my opinion on North Korea. I can't say it any more plainly

J. Lehrer, Well, but when he used the word "truth" again

G. Bush, Pardon me?

J. Lehrer, talking about the truth of the matter. He used the word "truth" again. Did that raise any hackles with you?

G. Bush, Oh, I'm a pretty calm guy. I don't take it personally. (First Presidential debate, 2004.

J. In and G. Kerry, Bush clearly refuses to discuss the issue of North Korea, and completely ignores his opponent's accusations of untruthfulness. J. Lehrer, expecting a reaction, uses the connective but to break into the exchange and give back to J. Kerry's utterance an

. Bush, This discordant steering of the debate is introduced by but and followed with a reference to an element of J. Kerry's utterance aimed at provoking a reaction ('He used the word "truth" again. Did that raise any hackles with you?'). But G. Bush here maintains his course of argumentation and is not disturbed by Lehrer's strategy. The operation of discourse switching or re-orientation marked by but is also quite clear in the following example, taken from an interview of M, Moore by the journalist A. Collins, and which I propose to analyse in its progression

J. C. Anscombre and O. Ducrot, L'argumentation dans la langue, Langages, vol.10, issue.42, 1983.
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