From laboratory to real life: Obstacles in common ground building
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Arto Mustajoki
Abstract
Common ground is one of the key terms in communication research. The term is also widely used in many other research fields, for example in politology, history and ethics. In communication research, common ground building is regarded as a permanent feature of interaction. However, in real life communicative encounters, this is true only for harmonious goal-oriented interaction (e.g. team meeting). The situation is very different in interaction which is non goal-oriented (small talk) or non-harmonious (hate speech, occasional negative comments). In actual communication, there are also persistent obstacles which complicate common ground building. The communicants may not recognise the need for it because of common ground fallacy. Ecocentrism, being an unavoidable feature of humans, hinders us from taking others’ perspective into full consideration. Cognitive biases complicate mutual understanding. False beliefs concerning other communicants’ opinions and knowledge make communicants put into the mental worlds of others things which are not there. In everyday communication, there are also situational factors which reduce our capacity to common ground building, such as tiredness, emotional overload and need to think of something which is more important than the current interaction.
Abstract
Common ground is one of the key terms in communication research. The term is also widely used in many other research fields, for example in politology, history and ethics. In communication research, common ground building is regarded as a permanent feature of interaction. However, in real life communicative encounters, this is true only for harmonious goal-oriented interaction (e.g. team meeting). The situation is very different in interaction which is non goal-oriented (small talk) or non-harmonious (hate speech, occasional negative comments). In actual communication, there are also persistent obstacles which complicate common ground building. The communicants may not recognise the need for it because of common ground fallacy. Ecocentrism, being an unavoidable feature of humans, hinders us from taking others’ perspective into full consideration. Cognitive biases complicate mutual understanding. False beliefs concerning other communicants’ opinions and knowledge make communicants put into the mental worlds of others things which are not there. In everyday communication, there are also situational factors which reduce our capacity to common ground building, such as tiredness, emotional overload and need to think of something which is more important than the current interaction.
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
