Article published In: Pragmatics & Cognition
Vol. 26:2/3 (2019) ► pp.414–446
Meaning construction in interactive academic talk
A conversation-analytic approach to mental spaces
Published online: 12 February 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.19019.pan
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.19019.pan
Abstract
Mental spaces are conceptual structures for meaning representation and interpretation in discourse. They are pervasive in
everyday language as an important aspect of ongoing language processing and meaning construction (Hamawand, Zeki. 2016. Semantics: A cognitive account of linguistic meaning. Sheffield, UK: Equinox Publishing.). The application of Mental Space Theory (MST) to the analysis of real, attested examples of
discourse (e.g. Conversation Analysis) has been undertaken through productive exchanges (see Hougaard, Anders. 2004. ‘How’re we doing’: An interactional approach to cognitive processes of online meaning construction. Unpublished PhD dissertation., . 2005. Conceptual disintegration and blending in interactional sequences: A discussion of new phenomena, processes vs. products, and methodology. Journal of Pragmatics 37(10). 1653–1685. , Oakley, Todd & Anders Hougaard (eds.) 2008. Mental spaces in discourse and interaction. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins. , Oakley, Todd. 2009. From attention to meaning: Explorations in semiotics, linguistics, and rhetoric. Berlin: Peter Lang. ). The integration links external, observable language behaviors to internal, conceptual
mental operations (Williams, Robert F. 2008. Guided conceptualization: Mental spaces in institutional discourse. In Todd Oakley & Anders Hougaard (eds.), Mental spaces in discourse and interaction, 209–234. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins. ), revealing that the cognitive dimensions of discursive
approaches are essential to the analysis of talk-in-interaction. This study focuses on the technical aspects of Conversation Analysis in
interactive academic talk and shows how MST can provide a subsequent framework for making plausible accounts of the meaning construction
process underlying typical conversational moves in this unique talk setting. The data analyses show that the accessibility and selectivity
of cognitive mappings contribute to shaping the structurality of meaning representation, transmission, and interpretation. The findings have
implications for understanding and characterizing how co-constructed meaning enters into individual and collective conceptualization in
higher education communication.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.A discursive view of mental spaces
- 3.The cognitive dimension of Conversation Analysis
- 4.The study: Data and methods
- 5.Findings and discussion
- 5.1Prosodic triggers and presupposition mappings
- 5.2Conditional relevance and space building movement
- 5.3Overlapping talk and the order of space building
- 5.4Alternate framings and space connection strategies
- 6.Concluding remarks
- Notes
References Key publications of author
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