Who creates reference?
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Manfred Consten
Abstract
This contribution sketches the role of hearers in the long history of reference research. Canonical approaches from semantics and (early) pragmatics as well as cognitive approaches are discussed with respect to the increasing role that hearers play in these various notions of reference. In the framework of Text-world model theory, reference objects are considered to be mental concepts that can vary as discourse progresses, as a result of a negotiation between speakers and hearers. Examples from German oral conversation corpora show that reference should be described as a collaborative, interactive procedure in order to get a notion of reference that is compatible with and useful for the analysis of conversation phenomena.
Abstract
This contribution sketches the role of hearers in the long history of reference research. Canonical approaches from semantics and (early) pragmatics as well as cognitive approaches are discussed with respect to the increasing role that hearers play in these various notions of reference. In the framework of Text-world model theory, reference objects are considered to be mental concepts that can vary as discourse progresses, as a result of a negotiation between speakers and hearers. Examples from German oral conversation corpora show that reference should be described as a collaborative, interactive procedure in order to get a notion of reference that is compatible with and useful for the analysis of conversation phenomena.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Speakers, addressees and the referential process 1
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Part I. New insights into referential conventions
- Anaphoric potential of bare nominals, incorporated objects and weak definites in German 27
- Is ambient it truly non-referential? 53
- Lions, flowers and the Romans 71
- Genre and reference chains 89
- A linear approach of chain composition 107
- When referents are seen and heard 127
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Part II. From conventions to pragmatics
- Human collective nouns and plural definite noun phrases 153
- Electric vehicles in the press 171
- Referring to the self and the addressee overtly 185
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Part III. From conventions to pragmatics
- Leaving this unsaid 213
- Referential conventions as compromise 233
- Referring to an avenue as an ‘artery’ ( artère ) in French 249
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Part IV. From conventions to pragmatics
- Who creates reference? 269
- “ peut-être on peut improviser un peu ” 287
- Temporal reference in oral narratives produced by French learners of English as a second language 305
- The choice of referring expressions in adult-child dialogues 323
- Index 347
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Speakers, addressees and the referential process 1
-
Part I. New insights into referential conventions
- Anaphoric potential of bare nominals, incorporated objects and weak definites in German 27
- Is ambient it truly non-referential? 53
- Lions, flowers and the Romans 71
- Genre and reference chains 89
- A linear approach of chain composition 107
- When referents are seen and heard 127
-
Part II. From conventions to pragmatics
- Human collective nouns and plural definite noun phrases 153
- Electric vehicles in the press 171
- Referring to the self and the addressee overtly 185
-
Part III. From conventions to pragmatics
- Leaving this unsaid 213
- Referential conventions as compromise 233
- Referring to an avenue as an ‘artery’ ( artère ) in French 249
-
Part IV. From conventions to pragmatics
- Who creates reference? 269
- “ peut-être on peut improviser un peu ” 287
- Temporal reference in oral narratives produced by French learners of English as a second language 305
- The choice of referring expressions in adult-child dialogues 323
- Index 347
