Understanding common ground as a cognitive object
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Brian Nolan
Abstract
At first glance, the idea of common ground seems a simple notion. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Common ground is actually very nuanced and complicated, with a dynamic connection to knowledge, context and situation. Common ground has been characterised to date as joint action, dynamic, and containing shared knowledge of various kinds. In this paper we propose a view of common ground as a type of cognitive object. We argue that common ground, the informational contents of common ground, and the operations that act on it in its construction and maintenance (grounding, verification, repair, accommodation, etc.), can be considered as contributing to the emergent common ground, while distributed across the minds of the discourse interlocutors. We argue for a view of common ground as distributed, complex, and adaptive across discourse agents. In motivating this view, we show how knowledge, context and situation intersect to help delineate the scope boundaries of the common ground informational content, and act as cognitive framing devices. We propose a formalisation of this model of common ground that can i) resolve diverse kinds of linguistic ambiguity found in discourse, and ii) be utilised in the characterisation of, for example, speech acts such as the assertive and declarative, along with indirect requests. The formalisation exemplifies elements of the interfaces between knowledge, context, situation, and both core and emergent common ground. The important questions we consider are therefore: 1. What is the relationship between context, situation and common ground? 2. What is the relationship between core and emergent common ground? 3. How does relevant knowledge and content get selected for inclusion into core and emergent common ground? 4. Considered as a cognitive object, what operations are used to manage the informational content of common ground?
Abstract
At first glance, the idea of common ground seems a simple notion. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Common ground is actually very nuanced and complicated, with a dynamic connection to knowledge, context and situation. Common ground has been characterised to date as joint action, dynamic, and containing shared knowledge of various kinds. In this paper we propose a view of common ground as a type of cognitive object. We argue that common ground, the informational contents of common ground, and the operations that act on it in its construction and maintenance (grounding, verification, repair, accommodation, etc.), can be considered as contributing to the emergent common ground, while distributed across the minds of the discourse interlocutors. We argue for a view of common ground as distributed, complex, and adaptive across discourse agents. In motivating this view, we show how knowledge, context and situation intersect to help delineate the scope boundaries of the common ground informational content, and act as cognitive framing devices. We propose a formalisation of this model of common ground that can i) resolve diverse kinds of linguistic ambiguity found in discourse, and ii) be utilised in the characterisation of, for example, speech acts such as the assertive and declarative, along with indirect requests. The formalisation exemplifies elements of the interfaces between knowledge, context, situation, and both core and emergent common ground. The important questions we consider are therefore: 1. What is the relationship between context, situation and common ground? 2. What is the relationship between core and emergent common ground? 3. How does relevant knowledge and content get selected for inclusion into core and emergent common ground? 4. Considered as a cognitive object, what operations are used to manage the informational content of common ground?
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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1 Understanding common ground
- The interdependence of common ground and context 7
- Understanding common ground as a cognitive object 25
- From laboratory to real life: Obstacles in common ground building 59
- Presupposition failures and the negotiation of the common ground 81
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2 Emergent common ground
- Grounding emergent common ground: Detecting markers of emergent common ground in a YouTube discussion thread 105
- Co-constructing emergent common ground: The role of the intercultural mediator 135
- The co-construction of common ground through exemplars unique to an ESL classroom 163
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3 Common ground building
- Mutual knowledge and the ‘hidden common ground’: An interdisciplinary perspective on mutual understanding in intercultural communication 197
- The linguistic code as basis for common ground building in English as a foreign language 219
- ELF disagreement as an interactional resource for doing interculturality 237
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4 Common ground in different discourses
- Working offline: Common ground in written discourse 263
- Metapragmatic expressions as common ground builders in intercultural business communication 281
- Harmony and common ground: Aikido principles for intercultural training 305
- Contributors to this volume 337
- Index 339
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
1 Understanding common ground
- The interdependence of common ground and context 7
- Understanding common ground as a cognitive object 25
- From laboratory to real life: Obstacles in common ground building 59
- Presupposition failures and the negotiation of the common ground 81
-
2 Emergent common ground
- Grounding emergent common ground: Detecting markers of emergent common ground in a YouTube discussion thread 105
- Co-constructing emergent common ground: The role of the intercultural mediator 135
- The co-construction of common ground through exemplars unique to an ESL classroom 163
-
3 Common ground building
- Mutual knowledge and the ‘hidden common ground’: An interdisciplinary perspective on mutual understanding in intercultural communication 197
- The linguistic code as basis for common ground building in English as a foreign language 219
- ELF disagreement as an interactional resource for doing interculturality 237
-
4 Common ground in different discourses
- Working offline: Common ground in written discourse 263
- Metapragmatic expressions as common ground builders in intercultural business communication 281
- Harmony and common ground: Aikido principles for intercultural training 305
- Contributors to this volume 337
- Index 339
