Communication or memory mismatch?
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Wolfgang Schulze✝
Abstract
Questions are traditionally interpreted as a universal strategy in human language that invites the addressee to share his/her knowledge with the speaker. Hence, questions are seen as a basic property of human communication. However, from a cognitive point of view, it may be asked whether questions (together with their constructional representations) reflect a specific state of cognition, conceptualized in terms of interrogativity. Referring to the framework of Radical Experientialism (Cognitive Typology in linguistic terms), I will propose a model of interrogativity that concentrates on the meaning of questions as such. It will be argued that interrogativity is the immediate reflex of a memory mismatch that may occur when processing outer world stimuli. Its most prototypical (and embodied) expression is that of pitch variation, frequently accompanied by secondary mismatch echoes that can be grammaticalized as question morphemes, particles, tags and so on. The communicative value of questions is viewed as a secondary cognitive hypothesis on mismatch mapping strategies in an interindividual setting.
Abstract
Questions are traditionally interpreted as a universal strategy in human language that invites the addressee to share his/her knowledge with the speaker. Hence, questions are seen as a basic property of human communication. However, from a cognitive point of view, it may be asked whether questions (together with their constructional representations) reflect a specific state of cognition, conceptualized in terms of interrogativity. Referring to the framework of Radical Experientialism (Cognitive Typology in linguistic terms), I will propose a model of interrogativity that concentrates on the meaning of questions as such. It will be argued that interrogativity is the immediate reflex of a memory mismatch that may occur when processing outer world stimuli. Its most prototypical (and embodied) expression is that of pitch variation, frequently accompanied by secondary mismatch echoes that can be grammaticalized as question morphemes, particles, tags and so on. The communicative value of questions is viewed as a secondary cognitive hypothesis on mismatch mapping strategies in an interindividual setting.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction. The construction of meaning in language 1
-
Part I: Metonymy and metaphor
- Experiential tests of figurative meaning construction 19
- High-level metaphor and metonymy in meaning construction 33
- The role of metonymy in meaning construction at discourse level 51
- Chained metonymies in lexicon and grammar 77
- Arguing the case against coercion 99
- When Zidane is not simply Zidane, and Bill Gates is not just Bill Gates 125
- Collocational overlap can guide metaphor interpretation 143
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Part II: Mental spaces and conceptual blending
- Constructing the meanings of personal pronouns 171
- The construction of meaning in relative clauses 189
- Constraints on inferential constructions 207
- The construction of vagueness 225
- Communication or memory mismatch? 247
- Brutal Brits and persuasive Americans 265
- Index of authors 283
- Index of subjects 285
- Index of metonymies and metaphors 289
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction. The construction of meaning in language 1
-
Part I: Metonymy and metaphor
- Experiential tests of figurative meaning construction 19
- High-level metaphor and metonymy in meaning construction 33
- The role of metonymy in meaning construction at discourse level 51
- Chained metonymies in lexicon and grammar 77
- Arguing the case against coercion 99
- When Zidane is not simply Zidane, and Bill Gates is not just Bill Gates 125
- Collocational overlap can guide metaphor interpretation 143
-
Part II: Mental spaces and conceptual blending
- Constructing the meanings of personal pronouns 171
- The construction of meaning in relative clauses 189
- Constraints on inferential constructions 207
- The construction of vagueness 225
- Communication or memory mismatch? 247
- Brutal Brits and persuasive Americans 265
- Index of authors 283
- Index of subjects 285
- Index of metonymies and metaphors 289
