Shifting relations
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Murray Garde
Abstract
This chapter examines the connections between shared cultural knowledge about kinship structure and the pragmatic inferences that enable interlocutors to assess each other’s (multiple) perspectives. By drawing on Bininj Gunwok conversational data this chapter shows how linguistic choices are influenced by the dynamics of social relationships, particularly by context-specific speaker goals and stance-taking that focuses on intersubjectivity. The choice of kinterm is an essential component of stance-taking. A switch in kinterm shifts the indexes of various aspects of speaker agency (e.g. effecting solidarity, ratifying relationships with addressee and referent, justifying joint action). Kinterms in four different contexts are discussed: basic kin terms for affines; basic kin terms for skewed relationships; kin term shifts within unnamed superclasses; and triadic terms.
Abstract
This chapter examines the connections between shared cultural knowledge about kinship structure and the pragmatic inferences that enable interlocutors to assess each other’s (multiple) perspectives. By drawing on Bininj Gunwok conversational data this chapter shows how linguistic choices are influenced by the dynamics of social relationships, particularly by context-specific speaker goals and stance-taking that focuses on intersubjectivity. The choice of kinterm is an essential component of stance-taking. A switch in kinterm shifts the indexes of various aspects of speaker agency (e.g. effecting solidarity, ratifying relationships with addressee and referent, justifying joint action). Kinterms in four different contexts are discussed: basic kin terms for affines; basic kin terms for skewed relationships; kin term shifts within unnamed superclasses; and triadic terms.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Map of Australian languages refferred to in this book vii
- List of contributors xi
- Editors’ introduction 1
- Bibliography of Mary Laughren 15
- Evaluating the Bilingual Education Program in Warlpiri schools 25
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Part 1. Phonology
- Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk 49
- Prestopping of nasals and laterals is only partly parallel 81
-
Part 2. Morphology
- Liminal pronoun systems 99
- Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu 123
- The reconstruction of inflectional classes in morphology 153
-
Part 3. Syntax
- Marking Definiteness or Specificity, not necessarily both 193
- Theory and experiment in parametric minimalism 217
- Serial verbs in Wambaya 263
- Nominals as adjuncts or arguments 283
-
Part 4. Semantics
- The case of the invisible postman 319
- Manner and result 337
-
Part 5. Anthropological Linguistics
- Shifting relations 361
- Language index 383
- Subject index 385
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Map of Australian languages refferred to in this book vii
- List of contributors xi
- Editors’ introduction 1
- Bibliography of Mary Laughren 15
- Evaluating the Bilingual Education Program in Warlpiri schools 25
-
Part 1. Phonology
- Phonological aspects of Arandic baby talk 49
- Prestopping of nasals and laterals is only partly parallel 81
-
Part 2. Morphology
- Liminal pronoun systems 99
- Verbs as spatial deixis markers in Jingulu 123
- The reconstruction of inflectional classes in morphology 153
-
Part 3. Syntax
- Marking Definiteness or Specificity, not necessarily both 193
- Theory and experiment in parametric minimalism 217
- Serial verbs in Wambaya 263
- Nominals as adjuncts or arguments 283
-
Part 4. Semantics
- The case of the invisible postman 319
- Manner and result 337
-
Part 5. Anthropological Linguistics
- Shifting relations 361
- Language index 383
- Subject index 385
