Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services

John Benjamins Publishing Company

Visit our Partner Page See all our books
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Embodying epistemicity

Negotiating (un)certainty through semiotic objects
  • , and

Abstract

The present paper analyses a corpus of bureaucratic-institutional interactions between migrants and civil servants, in order to investigate the role of objects in negotiating the certainty of information. During the encounters, documents are employed as means to provide and assess information; furthermore, the encounters produce a final artifact (e.g., a filled form), which constitutes the basis for providing a public service. Such objects are both related to, and constitutive of, the activities performed: they are “called into existence” by the interactants, within the temporal development and spatial arrangement of the interaction. Building on data collected within two European Grundtvig projects, the paper takes into account the semiotic resources deployed by the interactants for dealing with the objects, the patterns of actions in which objects are involved their relevance for negotiating the certainty of information.

Abstract

The present paper analyses a corpus of bureaucratic-institutional interactions between migrants and civil servants, in order to investigate the role of objects in negotiating the certainty of information. During the encounters, documents are employed as means to provide and assess information; furthermore, the encounters produce a final artifact (e.g., a filled form), which constitutes the basis for providing a public service. Such objects are both related to, and constitutive of, the activities performed: they are “called into existence” by the interactants, within the temporal development and spatial arrangement of the interaction. Building on data collected within two European Grundtvig projects, the paper takes into account the semiotic resources deployed by the interactants for dealing with the objects, the patterns of actions in which objects are involved their relevance for negotiating the certainty of information.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface 1
  4. Theoretical and general models
  5. Subjectivity in modality, and beyond 13
  6. Certainty and uncertainty in assertive speech acts 31
  7. Ideal and deviant interlocutors in a formal interpretation system 59
  8. On being certain whether 79
  9. Uncertainty as integrated part of meaning and understanding 99
  10. Epistemic stance 115
  11. Medical and supportive interactions
  12. Requesting help with null or limited knowledge 139
  13. The journey to advice 157
  14. Diagnostic news delivery 183
  15. Epistemic struggles in addiction Therapeutic Community meetings 201
  16. Embodying epistemicity 223
  17. Scientific writing and academic communication
  18. The fabric of certainty 249
  19. Hedging and attitude markers in Spanish and English scientific medical writing 273
  20. A theoretical contribution to tackling certainty and uncertainty in scientific writing 291
  21. BioUncertainty 309
  22. Uncertainty markers in a corpus of German biomedical papers from Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1993-2012) 341
  23. Questioning certainty in research articles and popular science articles 369
  24. Self-repairs and certainty in Romanian academic meetings 389
  25. About the authors 403
  26. Index 411
Communicating Certainty and Uncertainty in Medical, Supportive and Scientific Contexts
This chapter is in the book Communicating Certainty and Uncertainty in Medical, Supportive and Scientific Contexts
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.25.11kle

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Preface 1
  4. Theoretical and general models
  5. Subjectivity in modality, and beyond 13
  6. Certainty and uncertainty in assertive speech acts 31
  7. Ideal and deviant interlocutors in a formal interpretation system 59
  8. On being certain whether 79
  9. Uncertainty as integrated part of meaning and understanding 99
  10. Epistemic stance 115
  11. Medical and supportive interactions
  12. Requesting help with null or limited knowledge 139
  13. The journey to advice 157
  14. Diagnostic news delivery 183
  15. Epistemic struggles in addiction Therapeutic Community meetings 201
  16. Embodying epistemicity 223
  17. Scientific writing and academic communication
  18. The fabric of certainty 249
  19. Hedging and attitude markers in Spanish and English scientific medical writing 273
  20. A theoretical contribution to tackling certainty and uncertainty in scientific writing 291
  21. BioUncertainty 309
  22. Uncertainty markers in a corpus of German biomedical papers from Spektrum der Wissenschaft (1993-2012) 341
  23. Questioning certainty in research articles and popular science articles 369
  24. Self-repairs and certainty in Romanian academic meetings 389
  25. About the authors 403
  26. Index 411
Downloaded on 13.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/ds.25.11kle/html
Scroll to top button