Language as mechanisms for interaction

Ruth Kempson, Ronnie Cann, Eleni Gregoromichelaki, Stergios Chatzikyriakidis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Language use is full of subsentential shifts of context, a phenomenon dramatically illustrated in conversation where non-sentential utterances displaying seamless shifts between speaker/hearer roles appear regularly. The hurdle this poses for standard assumptions is that every local linguistic dependency can be distributed across speakers, with the content of what they are saying and the significance of each conversational move emerging incrementally. Accordingly, we argue that the modelling of a psychologically-realistic grammar necessitates recasting the notion of natural language in terms of our ability for interaction with others and the environment, abandoning the competence-performance dichotomy as standardly envisaged. We sketch Dynamic Syntax, a model in which underspecification and incremental time-relative update is central, showing how interactive effects of conversation follow directly. Finally, we note the changing cognitive-science horizons to be explored once a language-as-action view is adopted.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)203-275
Number of pages72
JournalTheoretical Linguistics
Volume42
Issue number3-4
Early online date6 Oct 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2016

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • dialogue
  • context
  • dynamic syntax
  • incrementality
  • non-sententials

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Language as mechanisms for interaction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this