Lexical Markers of Common Grounds
Lexical Markers of Common Grounds

Author: Anita Fetzer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-11-22

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0080466311

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The multifaceted and heterogeneous category of common ground is central to theories of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse and context. This book addresses current approaches to common ground from the novel perspective of lexical markers. The edited volume falls in two parts. The first part addresses the relationship between mechanisms of grounding and reference to common ground. The second part examines different types of common ground. It is shown that the investigation of lexical markers provides a novel perspective for investigating the relationship between grounding, common ground and common grounds. Contributions are by Sherri L. Condon and Claude G. Cech, Anita Fetzer, Kerstin Fischer, Francois Nemo, Thanh Nyan, Moeko Okada, Carlos Rodriguez Penagos, Karin Pittner and Thora Tenbrink. It reviews current approaches to common ground from the perspective of lexical markers. It is organized into two parts that discuss the relationship between mechanisms of grounding. It is a reference to common ground and the different types of common ground. It reflects current trends in the field that cross methodological boundaries and integrate cognition, context, genre, negotiation of meaning, and dialogue.

Common Ground in First Language and Intercultural Interaction
Common Ground in First Language and Intercultural Interaction

Author: Istvan Kecskes

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-03-06

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 3110766779

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In recent years the traditional approach to common ground as a body of information shared between participants of a communicative process has been challenged. Taking into account not only L1 but also intercultural interactions and attempting to bring together the traditional view with the egocentrism-based view of cognitive psychologists, it has been argued that construction of common ground is a dynamic, emergent process. It is the convergence of the mental representation of shared knowledge that we activate, assumed mutual knowledge that we seek, and rapport as well as knowledge that we co-construct in the communicative process. This dynamic understanding of common ground has been applied in many research projects addressing both L1 and intercultural interactions in recent years. As a result several new elements, aspects and interpretations of common ground have been identified. Some researchers came to view common ground as one component in a complex contextual information structure. Others, analyzing intercultural interactions, pointed out the dynamism of the interplay of core common ground and emergent common ground. The book brings together researchers from different angles of pragmatics and communication to examine (i) what adjustments to the notion of common ground based on L1 communication should be made in the light of research in intercultural communication; (ii) what the relationship is between context, situation and common ground, and (iii) how relevant knowledge and content get selected for inclusion into core and emergent common ground.

Distance in Language
Distance in Language

Author: Anastasia Meermann

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2015-06-18

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1443878847

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The conceptual metaphor of ""distance"" plays a crucial role in current perceptions of the world and humans' various interactions within it. It hardly seems possible to conceptualize space and time, emotional involvement in events, and relationships with other people in terms other than ""distance"". As a consequence, this primarily spatial concept figures prominently in the verbal expression of these abstract notions, and is thus highly relevant for the analysis of linguistic phenomena. In recen ...

Particles in German, English, and Beyond
Particles in German, English, and Beyond

Author: Remus Gergel

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2022-08-15

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 9027257671

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Germanic languages have been recognized as having not only intensifying or focus particles, but also so-called modal particles. The relevant items are specialized discourse markers joined by characteristic syntactic properties. After an introductory overview of the complex field, the contributions of the current volume capitalize on, but also work much further beyond the baseline of the established insights. They offer analyses of (a) new data types within and sometimes across several Germanic languages (e.g. varieties/stages of German, Dutch, or Norwegian), encompassing different classes of particles and a variety of syntactic-semantic as well as usage-based aspects; (b) the classical dichotomy between languages like German and English when it comes to the availability of modal particles both synchronically and diachronically; (c) crucial integrated insight from non-Germanic languages such as French, Hungarian, Italian, Mandarin, or Vietnamese. A number of mostly interface-based proposals of several languages as well as further generalizations are put on the table for both expert and novice readers in the field.

Discourse Markers and Modal Particles
Discourse Markers and Modal Particles

Author: Liesbeth Degand

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2013-11-14

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 9027271224

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Discourse markers and modal particles are fuzzy linguistic categories that are difficult to describe. The contributions in this volume go beyond this statement. They discuss the intersection between modal particles and discourse markers and examine whether or not it is possible to draw a line between these two types of linguistic expressions. On the basis of new synchronic and diachronic data, from speech and writing, from European and Asian languages or cross-linguistically, the authors answer the question whether discourse markers and modal particles are distinct categories, whether they form a cline, or whether modal particles are a subcategory of discourse markers. This common question shows up throughout all chapters, which makes the book to a coherent whole. By disentangling the complexity of categorizing multifunctional expressions, this book also sheds new light on the processes of meaning extension. The traditional discourse and modal functions are complemented by interactional and textual ones. A must read for functional linguists.

Context and Appropriateness
Context and Appropriateness

Author: Anita Fetzer

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9789027254061

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This book departs from the premise that context and appropriateness represent complex relational configurations which can no longer be conceived as analytic primes but rather require the accommodation of micro and macro perspectives to capture their inherent dynamism. The edited volume presents a collection of papers which examine the connectedness between context and appropriateness from interdisciplinary perspectives. The papers use different theoretical frameworks, such as situation theory, speech act theory, cognitive pragmatics, sociopragmatics, discourse analysis, argumentation theory and functional linguistics. They reflect current moves in pragmatics and discourse analysis to cross disciplinary and methodological boundaries by integrating relevant premises and insights, in particular cognition, negotiation of meaning, sequentiality, recipient design and genre.

Integrating Gestures
Integrating Gestures

Author: Gale Stam

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2011-06-30

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 9027287201

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Gestures are ubiquitous and natural in our everyday life. They convey information about culture, discourse, thought, intentionality, emotion, intersubjectivity, cognition, and first and second language acquisition. Additionally, they are used by non-human primates to communicate with their peers and with humans. Consequently, the modern field of gesture studies has attracted researchers from a number of different disciplines such as anthropology, cognitive science, communication, neuroscience, psycholinguistics, primatology, psychology, robotics, sociology and semiotics. This volume presents an overview of the depth and breadth of current research in gesture. Its focus is on the interdisciplinary nature of gesture. The twenty-six chapters included in the volume are divided into six sections or themes: the nature and functions of gesture, first language development and gesture, second language effects on gesture, gesture in the classroom and in problem solving, gesture aspects of discourse and interaction, and gestural analysis of music and dance.

Language and Humour in the Media
Language and Humour in the Media

Author: Jan Chovanec

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2012-04-25

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1443839388

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Language and Humour in the Media provides new insights into the interface between humour studies and media discourse analysis, connecting two areas of scholarly interest that have not been studied extensively before. The volume adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, concentrating on the various roles humour plays in print and audiovisual media, the forms it takes, the purposes it serves, the butts it targets, the implications it carries and the differences it may assume across cultures. The phenomena described range from conversational humour, canned jokes and wordplay to humour in translation and news satire. The individual studies draw their material for analysis from traditional print and broadcast media, such as magazines, sitcoms, films and spoof news, as well as electronic and internet-based media, such as emails, listserv messages, live blogs and online news. The volume will be of primary interest to a wide range of researchers in the fields of discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, intercultural studies, pragmatics, communication studies, and rhetoric but it will also appeal to scholars in the areas of media studies, psychology and crosscultural communication.

Tag Questions in Conversation
Tag Questions in Conversation

Author: Ditte Kimps

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9027264333

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This monograph deals with variable tag questions. These are utterances with a variable interrogative tag, like It's peculiar writing, isn't it, and the semi-variable tag innit, such as Nice, innit. The aim is to provide a corpus-based, comprehensive semantic-pragmatic typology of British English tag questions. Compared to existing descriptions, the proposed typology is novel in three ways. Firstly, whereas almost all existing typologies are single-layered classifications, the functions of tag questions are categorized into two parallel dimensions of interpersonal meaning: the speech function and the stance layer. Secondly, semantic generalizations are proposed for clusters of grammatical, intonational and conversational properties. Thirdly, the bottom-up description is based on a sizeable amount of authentic, spontaneous conversations, which are analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Modality and Theory of Mind Elements across Languages
Modality and Theory of Mind Elements across Languages

Author: Werner Abraham

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2012-05-29

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 3110271079

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Modality is the way a speaker modifies her declaratives and other speech acts to optimally assess the common ground of knowledge and belief of the addressee with the aim to optimally achieve understanding and an assessment of relevant information exchange. In languages such as German (and other Germanic languages outside of English), this may happen in covert terms. Main categories used for this purpose are modal adverbials ("modal particles") and modal verbs. Epistemic uses of modal verbs (like German sollen) cover evidential (reportative) information simultaneously providing the source of the information. Methodologically, description and explanation rest on Karl Bühler's concept of Origo as well as Roman Jakobson's concept of shifter. Typologically, East Asian languages such as Japanese pursue these semasiological fundaments far more closely than the European languages. In particular, Japanese has to mark the source of a statement in the declarative mode such that the reliability may be assessed by the hearer. The contributions in this collection provide insight into these modal techniques.