'I understand'-initiated formulations of the other: a semi-fixed claim to the intersubjective
Issue Date
2020-12-10Subjects
formulaic languagesemi-fixed expressions
intersubjectivity
formulation
cognitive verb
misalignment
complement taking predicates
Estonian
Subject Categories::Q150 Psycholinguistics
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Fixed Expressions: Building language structure and social actionAbstract
Some language patterns appear fixed at a certain time, enabling their description as grammatical structures. Semi-fixed patterns that routinely accomplish specific social actions constitute more of an analytical challenge. This chapter targets the phrase ma saan aru 'I understand' in Estonian together with the ensuing other-attentive formulation '2nd person expression + a cognitive concept' and argues that it is a semi-fixed expression, a "claim to the intersubjective", that manages a misalignment between participants. While claiming to have successfully accessed the other's motives or feelings, the speaker regularly advances her own agenda through the formulation of the other. This suggests a systematic relationship between cognitive lexicon, grammatical structure, and interactional function, and calls for a language theory that incorporates semi-fixedness.Citation
Keevallik L, Weatherall A (2020) ''I understand'-initiated formulations of the other: a semi-fixed claim to the intersubjective', in Laury R, Ono T (ed(s).). Fixed Expressions: Building language structure and social action, John Benjamins Publishing CompanyPublisher
John Benjamins Publishing CompanyAdditional Links
https://benjamins.com/catalog/pbns.315.02keeType
Book chapterLanguage
enISBN
97890272606289789027207678
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1075/pbns.315.02kee