1. Discourse and Syntax March 5, 2009 Thompson and Couper-Kuhlen. Clause as Locus of Interaction

2. grammar shapes interaction

3. Introduction  observation of interaction (discourse) will help us understand more about grammatical structures. grammar shapes interaction

4. Introduction

5. Interaction shapes grammar  actions  greeting people  ending a conversation

6. Interaction shapes grammar

7.  An analysis of interaction contributes to our understanding of grammar.  A linguistic perspective on the nature of grammar must be both interactionally sensible and cognitively realistic.  Formats or schemas are a valuable notion in the study of language in interaction. (patterns)

8. Schemas in interaction

9.  utterances (in certain contexts)  habits (schemas, patterns)  part of grammar (function)

10. Interaction shapes grammar

11.  In a conversation, we need to solve communicational problems.  The utterances made in a conversation become a routine. They are repeated in subsequent instances.  They become grammaticalized and become part of the grammar.  Different languages find varying grammatical solutions.  How does grammar shape interaction?

12. Interaction and the ‘ clause ’  What task is the other person trying to accomplish?  We know through the utterances spoken.  We know what the other person is trying to say.  We know when the other person completes his utterance.  Grammar plays the major role in this understanding.

13. Interaction and the ‘ clause ’  When a turn is finished, the stretch of talk is a grammatical format.  In English, this grammatical format is the clause.

14. Interaction and the clause  In other languages, the clause is also thought of as the locus of interaction.

15. The ‘ clause ’

16.  Upon hearing the predicate (which is within the clause), the recipient will know what action is being taken up.  This is also true for Japanese.  The authors are trying to say that this is true for any language.  The predicate  when it will occur (early or late)  the nature of that predicate

17. The ‘ clause ’  More than half of utterances are not clauses, but utterances are made with reference to a nearby verb or predicate.

18. The ‘ clause ’  Is this also true in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hakka? Can you provide illustrations?

19. The ‘ clause ’ in English  Clause formats:  Subject NP (pronoun) + verb (complex) + object NP + prep phrase + adverb + adv phrase

20. The ‘ clause ’ in English

21. Lines 12-15  When an English speaker hears an NP near the beginning of a turn unit, s/he can predict that a verb complex is likely to follow.  Upon hearing that verb complex, s/he can narrow down the range of types of linguistic elements that it would take to complete the clause in context and thus to bring the turn unit to a point of possible completion.

22. Lines 12-15

23. The clause in English

24. The ‘ clause ’ in Japanese  Japanese  clause: predicate + phrases  But the Japanese clause has a different structure from English.

25. The ‘ clause ’ in Japanese  Japanese: delayed projectability  predicate comes last  anaphors; how many NPs is not predictable

26. The ‘ clause ’ in Japanese  to compensate,  utterance-final elements (following the predicate): speaker’s stance and mark turn as complete

27. The ‘ clause ’ in Japanese saying verb

29. English and Japanese