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Yucatec demonstratives in interaction

Spontaneous vs. elicited data

Abstract

This chapter compares Hanks’ (1990, 2005) ‘practice’ approach to the demonstratives of Yucatec Maya based on the recording of spontaneously occurring interactions to the results obtained by the author with the elicitation questionnaire developed by Wilkins (1999). The study of the meaning and use of demonstratives represents particular challenges to linguistic data gathering because of their context dependency and the role of interactional factors such as attention sharing. The questionnaire study disconfirmed any direct impact of the location of the addressee on the choice of demonstrative and showed a systematic contrast between simple forms used for joint attention and augmented ones used for attention direction. It is argued that observation of spontaneous interactions and elicitation should be pursued in tandem. Keywords: attention direction; demonstratives; elicited vs. spontaneous data; interaction; Yucatec Maya

Abstract

This chapter compares Hanks’ (1990, 2005) ‘practice’ approach to the demonstratives of Yucatec Maya based on the recording of spontaneously occurring interactions to the results obtained by the author with the elicitation questionnaire developed by Wilkins (1999). The study of the meaning and use of demonstratives represents particular challenges to linguistic data gathering because of their context dependency and the role of interactional factors such as attention sharing. The questionnaire study disconfirmed any direct impact of the location of the addressee on the choice of demonstrative and showed a systematic contrast between simple forms used for joint attention and augmented ones used for attention direction. It is argued that observation of spontaneous interactions and elicitation should be pursued in tandem. Keywords: attention direction; demonstratives; elicited vs. spontaneous data; interaction; Yucatec Maya

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of contributors ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. Practical theories and empirical practice – facets of a complex interaction 1
  6. Part I. Empirical practice
  7. The embodiment of linguistic meaning 35
  8. Infants’ encoding of social interaction as a conceptual foundation for the acquisition of argument structure 55
  9. Referring to colour and taste in Kilivila 71
  10. Yucatec demonstratives in interaction 99
  11. Many languages, one knowledge base 129
  12. Part II. Practical theories
  13. Nen assentives and the phenomenon of dialogic parallelisms 159
  14. Evidentiality, modality, focus and other puzzles 185
  15. Does Searle’s challenge affect chances for approximating assertion and quotative modal wollen ? 245
  16. The pragmatics of argumentation 257
  17. Implicature of complex sentences in error models 273
  18. The semantics of functional spaces 307
  19. Language index 325
  20. Name index 327
  21. Subject index 333
Practical Theories and Empirical Practice
This chapter is in the book Practical Theories and Empirical Practice
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.40.05boh

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. List of contributors ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. Practical theories and empirical practice – facets of a complex interaction 1
  6. Part I. Empirical practice
  7. The embodiment of linguistic meaning 35
  8. Infants’ encoding of social interaction as a conceptual foundation for the acquisition of argument structure 55
  9. Referring to colour and taste in Kilivila 71
  10. Yucatec demonstratives in interaction 99
  11. Many languages, one knowledge base 129
  12. Part II. Practical theories
  13. Nen assentives and the phenomenon of dialogic parallelisms 159
  14. Evidentiality, modality, focus and other puzzles 185
  15. Does Searle’s challenge affect chances for approximating assertion and quotative modal wollen ? 245
  16. The pragmatics of argumentation 257
  17. Implicature of complex sentences in error models 273
  18. The semantics of functional spaces 307
  19. Language index 325
  20. Name index 327
  21. Subject index 333
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