21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding
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Christoph Purschke
Abstract
This chapter outlines different methodological approaches to the visualization of perceptions and their socio-pragmatic grounding, ranging from traditional draw-a-map tasks to white-canvas tasks, language-portrait tasks, and pilesort tasks. While the methods presented are traditionally used in sociolinguistics, this chapter illustrates their validity for pragmatic research by means of a case study conducted in Luxembourg and Switzerland. There, participants were asked to visualize multilingualism in their respective country, both individually, as well as in a collaborative task. On the one hand, the analysis of their drawings shows several recurring motifs in the individual participant groups, such as a geographical language distribution in Switzerland, or situations of daily routines in Luxembourg. On the other hand, the group tasks furthermore represent rich data, with each individual negotiation presenting a mirror of social practices as a whole
Abstract
This chapter outlines different methodological approaches to the visualization of perceptions and their socio-pragmatic grounding, ranging from traditional draw-a-map tasks to white-canvas tasks, language-portrait tasks, and pilesort tasks. While the methods presented are traditionally used in sociolinguistics, this chapter illustrates their validity for pragmatic research by means of a case study conducted in Luxembourg and Switzerland. There, participants were asked to visualize multilingualism in their respective country, both individually, as well as in a collaborative task. On the one hand, the analysis of their drawings shows several recurring motifs in the individual participant groups, such as a geographical language distribution in Switzerland, or situations of daily routines in Luxembourg. On the other hand, the group tasks furthermore represent rich data, with each individual negotiation presenting a mirror of social practices as a whole
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface ix
- Table of Contents xi
- 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
-
I. Describing space through language
- 2. Deictic reference in space 23
- 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
- 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
- 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
- 6. Describing motion events 153
- 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
- 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
- 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
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II. Spatial organization of social interaction
- 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
- 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
- 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
- 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
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III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
- 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
- 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
- 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
- 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
- 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
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IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
- 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
- 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
- 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
- Bionotes 715
- Author index 727
- Subject index 735
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface to the handbook series v
- Preface ix
- Table of Contents xi
- 1. Doing space: The pragmatics of language and space 1
-
I. Describing space through language
- 2. Deictic reference in space 23
- 3. The conceptualization of space in signed languages: Placing the signer in narratives 63
- 4. Spatiality in written texts 95
- 5. Interactional onomastics: Place names as malleable resources 125
- 6. Describing motion events 153
- 7. Discourses of place: The formation of space and place through discourse 181
- 8. Imaginary spaces in storytelling 209
- 9. Developmental perspectives on doing talk about space 251
-
II. Spatial organization of social interaction
- 10. Encounters in public places: The establishment of interactional space in face-to-face openings 281
- 11. Interactional spaces in stationary, mobile, video-mediated and virtual encounters 317
- 12. The pragmatics of gesture and space 363
- 13. Distance and closeness: The im/politeness of space in communication 399
-
III. Communicative resources of constructed spaces
- 14. Architecture-for-interaction: Built, designed and furnished space for communicative purposes 431
- 15. Building, dwelling, and interacting: Steps in the evolution of public space from Paleolithic to present 473
- 16. The pragmatics of linguistic landscapes 523
- 17. The pragmatics of written texts in space 549
- 18. Co-presence and beyond: Spatial configurations of communication in virtual environments 579
-
IV. Pragmatics across space and cultures
- 19. Pragmatic variation across geographical and social space 611
- 20. Pragmatic variation across national varieties of pluricentric languages 637
- 21. Mapping perceptions and knowledge of language: Societal multilingualism and its sociopragmatic grounding 679
- Bionotes 715
- Author index 727
- Subject index 735
