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11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters

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Pragmatics of Space
This chapter is in the book Pragmatics of Space

Abstract

In any focused social interaction, people come together, move, and position their bodies with respect to each other, and maintain and change such formations while they interact. Establishing and sustaining such formations makes it possible for them to see and hear others, to show and share objects, and to orient to same features in the environment. Forming copresence and a shared space is core and a precondition to any social interaction. Since the influential work by Adam Kendon (F-formations) and Erving Goffman (participation frameworks, focused encounters, withs) an accumulating body of research has explored - in different interactional settings - the pragmatics of how humans organize themselves spatially for interacting with each other. More recently, Lorenza Mondada (2009) has introduced the term “interactional space” to refer to the dynamic ways in which people not only initiate and establish copresent formations but also continuously (re)organize them with respect to each other, the unfolding activity and material environment. In this chapter, we offer an overview of pragmatics research on spatial arrangements in interaction. We illustrate how people organize their copresence in order to interact with each other in stable, mobile, video-mediated (i. e., distributed) and virtual settings. We explore “interactional space” as a visual phenomenon and thereby focus on situations where participants can (at least partly) see each other

Abstract

In any focused social interaction, people come together, move, and position their bodies with respect to each other, and maintain and change such formations while they interact. Establishing and sustaining such formations makes it possible for them to see and hear others, to show and share objects, and to orient to same features in the environment. Forming copresence and a shared space is core and a precondition to any social interaction. Since the influential work by Adam Kendon (F-formations) and Erving Goffman (participation frameworks, focused encounters, withs) an accumulating body of research has explored - in different interactional settings - the pragmatics of how humans organize themselves spatially for interacting with each other. More recently, Lorenza Mondada (2009) has introduced the term “interactional space” to refer to the dynamic ways in which people not only initiate and establish copresent formations but also continuously (re)organize them with respect to each other, the unfolding activity and material environment. In this chapter, we offer an overview of pragmatics research on spatial arrangements in interaction. We illustrate how people organize their copresence in order to interact with each other in stable, mobile, video-mediated (i. e., distributed) and virtual settings. We explore “interactional space” as a visual phenomenon and thereby focus on situations where participants can (at least partly) see each other

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to the handbook series v
  3. Preface ix
  4. Table of Contents xi
  5. 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
  6. I. Describing space through language
  7. 2. Deictic reference in space 23
  8. 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
  9. 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
  10. 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
  11. 6. Describing motion events 153
  12. 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
  13. 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
  14. 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
  15. II. Spatial organization of social interaction
  16. 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
  17. 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
  18. 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
  19. 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
  20. III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
  21. 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
  22. 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
  23. 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
  24. 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
  25. 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
  26. IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
  27. 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
  28. 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
  29. 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
  30. Bionotes 715
  31. Author index 727
  32. Subject index 735
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110693713-011

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Preface to the handbook series v
  3. Preface ix
  4. Table of Contents xi
  5. 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
  6. I. Describing space through language
  7. 2. Deictic reference in space 23
  8. 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
  9. 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
  10. 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
  11. 6. Describing motion events 153
  12. 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
  13. 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
  14. 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
  15. II. Spatial organization of social interaction
  16. 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
  17. 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
  18. 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
  19. 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
  20. III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
  21. 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
  22. 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
  23. 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
  24. 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
  25. 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
  26. IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
  27. 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
  28. 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
  29. 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
  30. Bionotes 715
  31. Author index 727
  32. Subject index 735
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