Constructions of Intersubjectivity
Discourse, Syntax, and Cognition
Published on 26. May 2005
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-19-927384-3 (ISBN)
Description
Constructions of Intersubjectivity shows that the meaning of grammatical constructions often has more to do with the human cognitive capacity for taking other peoples' points of view than with describing the world. Treating pragmatics, semantics, and syntax in parallel and integrating insights from linguistics, psychology, and animal communication, Arie Verhagen develops a new understanding of linguistic communication. In doing so he shows the continuity between language and animal communication and reveals the nature of human linguistic specialization.
Professor Verhagen uses Dutch and English data from a wide variety of sources and considers the contributions of grammar to the coherence of discourse. He argues that important problems in semantics and syntax may be resolved if language is understood as an instrument for exerting influence and coordinating different perspectives. The grammatical phenomena he discusses include negative expressions, the let alone construction, complementation constructions, and discourse connectives.
This powerfully argued and original explanation of the nature and operation of communication will interest a wide range of scholars and advanced students in linguistics, cognitive science, and human evolution.
Professor Verhagen uses Dutch and English data from a wide variety of sources and considers the contributions of grammar to the coherence of discourse. He argues that important problems in semantics and syntax may be resolved if language is understood as an instrument for exerting influence and coordinating different perspectives. The grammatical phenomena he discusses include negative expressions, the let alone construction, complementation constructions, and discourse connectives.
This powerfully argued and original explanation of the nature and operation of communication will interest a wide range of scholars and advanced students in linguistics, cognitive science, and human evolution.
Reviews / Votes
An important book on a fascinating topic in the field of pragmatics and cognition * Pragmatics and Cognition * An important contribution to the study of language. It proposes a clear and convincing analysis of a number of controversial phenomena in syntax, semantics, and the lexicon, while opening new perspectives in the study of language as a communicative tool * Linguistics * Verhagens book is a welcome contribution to the study of intersubjective aspects of linguistic meaning. Through a careful investigation of negation, complementation, and discourse connections, the author clearly demonstrates that subjectivity, discourse management, and argumentative orientation are pervasive and fundamentally important, even in what are considered core areas of grammar. Linguists of all persuasions can profit from this volume. * Ronald W. Langacker, University of California, San Diego *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Linguists, cognitive scientists, evolutionary and behavioural biologists, psychologists, and philosophers interested in discourse, pragmatics, and the cognition of language, plus their advanced students
Illustrations
numerous line figures
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
564 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-927384-3 (9780199273843)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2007
Oxford University Press
€66.10
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Arie Verhagen has been the chair of Dutch Linguistics at the University of Leiden since 1998. He received his PhD in 1986 at the Free University in Amsterdam and has taught at the Free University, Utrecht University, and the University of Leiden. His books include Linguistic Theory and the Function of Word Order in Dutch (1986) and Usage-Based Approaches to Dutch (co-edited with Jeroen van de Weijer, 2003). He was editor-in-chief of the journal Cognitive Linguistics from 1996 until 2004. His research focuses on relations between language use and language structure, synchronically and diachronically. Current topics, in addition to those addressed in this book, include causative constructions and other expressions of causation, and the organization of constructions into grammars.
Content
1. Intersubjectivity - Mutual Management ; 2. Negation and Virtual Argumentation ; 3. Finite Complements - Putting Conceptualizers on Stage ; 4. Discourse Connections - Managing Inferences Across Perspectives ; 5. Concluding Remarks