Transcript Модусы дискурса

MULTI-FACTORIAL CHOICES
IN SPEAKING
Andrej A. Kibrik
(Institute of Linguistics,
Russian Academy of Sciences)
[email protected]
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CHOICE
 As people speak, they constantly make
choices
 There are several (partially overlapping)
types of choices involved
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Unique choice
 Choosing a lexical item to describe one’s
own emotion
I am glad (OKhappy, ??joyful, *amused)
you are willing to attend our workshop
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Prompted choice
 Language prompts its speakers to focus on

certain aspects of meaning that must be
expressed in this or that way
Example: if a language has the category of
number, each noun in discourse must be
specified for number, even if that is not
particularly relevant
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Prompted choice
 Language prompts its speakers to focus on


certain aspects of meaning that must be
expressed in this or that way
Example: if a language has the category of
number, each noun in discourse must be
specified for number, even if that is not
particularly relevant
Cf. Jakobson’s notion of grammatical category
and Slobin’s “Thinking for speaking” framework
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Forced choice
 Some linguistic elements require other linguistic

elements
Example:
 verb V in language L requires a direct object
 even there is no semantic need to use an overt object NP
the speaker inserts a dummy element there
If you don’t have a ticket, you should get one
cf. Russian Esli u vas net bileta, vam nuzhno kupit’ __
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Probabilistic choice
 differs from any of the listed types
 is very little acknowledged in linguistics
 there always exist some borderline
situations in which more than one option
can be used
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Features of probabilistic
choice
 the speaker chooses between two or more



options from a fixed repertoire
the choice cannot be reduced to one factor
governing it but depends on multiple factors
various factors interact in a certain way and give
rise to a cumulative resultant decision
the choice is cognitively motivated: it can be
linked to a higher-order cognitive function
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Example 1. Referential choice:
full noun phrase vs. pronoun
 In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir Putin,
Cheney believes that he is speaking for the
Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
done his homework and consulted a few opinion
polls, which are extensive and reliable in Russia,
he would have discovered that Putin has a 75
percent approval rating, about twice that of
President Bush.
Newsweek, May 29, 2006
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Example 1. Referential choice:
full noun phrase vs. pronoun
 In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir Putin,
Cheney believes that he is speaking for the
Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
done his homework and consulted a few opinion
polls, which are extensive and reliable in Russia,
he would have discovered that Putin has a 75
percent approval rating, about twice that of
President Bush.
Newsweek, May 29, 2006
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Referential choice
 overwhelming character (40 out of 89 words)
 multiple factors




distance to prior mention
role of prior mention
animacy
………….
 cumulative effect leading to a resultant choice
 overarching cognitive domain: activation in the

speaker’s working memory
probabilistic
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Referential choice
is probabilistic
 In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir Putin,
Cheney believes that he is speaking for the
Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
done his homework and consulted a few opinion
polls, which are extensive and reliable in Russia,
he would have discovered that Putin has a 75
percent approval rating, about twice that of
President Bush.
Newsweek, May 29, 2006
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Example 2. Finite vs. non-finite
predicate form in Karachay-Balkar
 men
I
 birinci
first
 qal-a-ma
…
bar-a-ma,
go-Pres-1Sg
FINITE VERB FORMS
kUn bar-a-ma
da
day go-Pres-1Sg
and Qashxataw-Dat
kece
stay-Pres-1Sg night
qaSXataw-Ra,
zuwuq-lar-ybyz-da.
relative-Pl-1Pl-Loc
I start off, on the first day go to Qashxataw, stay
overnight with our relatives
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Example 2. Finite vs. non-finite
predicate form in Karachay-Balkar
…
eSek
any
…
donkey
him hear-Pf-Compar
qulaq-lar-y-n
da
ear-Pl-3-Acc
and erect-Conv
…
…
ijgi
…
well
eSt-xen-lej,
turRuz-up,
ajaq
al-yp,
legs
gather-Conv
NONFINITE
VERB
FORMS
terk qaty
caf-Xal-laj
tebre-gen-di.
fast strong
run-Pf-Compar
begin-Pf-3
As soon as the donkey heard it, he erected his ears,
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speeded up, and started running very fast
Finite vs. non-finite clause form
 overwhelming character in narrative
 multiple factors
 purely temporal vs. causal-temporal connection to
the next event
 position in the chain of events
 ………….
 cumulative effect leading to a resultant decision
 overarching cognitive domain: cognitive

connectedness, affiliation with a higher order
event
probabilistic
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Clause form choice is
probabilistic
Original Prognosis FC
LX
ZB
MX
they added more
people to him,
Fin
Fin
Non- Fin
Fin
Fin
Fin
found him a wife,
Fin
Fin
Non- Fin
Fin
Fin
Fin
and a village
formed there
Fin
Fin
Fin
Fin
Fin
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Example 3. Direction of pitch in
accent (Russian): rising vs. falling





..(0.3) Посмотрели мы этот /концерт,
We watched that /concert,
..(0.1) куда-то \пош-шли.
(and) went \somewhere.
...(0.6) Тут ..(0.3) ээ(0.3) ..(0.4) мы встречаем мою
/маму с папой,
Then … we meet my /mom with my dad,
...(0.6) \откуда-то,
from \somewhere,
...(0.9) и ' ..(0.3) мы ' ..(0.4) куда-то \поехали.
and we started for some \place.
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Direction of pitch in
accent





overwhelming character
multiple factors
 whether the discourse unit in question is the terminal one in an
illocutionary act or ‘sentence’
 if yes, which illocutionary meaning it bears
 if not, what pitch direction is projected for the nuclear accent of the
following EDU
 whether the current EDU is in the mainline of discourse or is a
postpositional addendum (elaboration) to the previous EDU
 ………….
cumulative effect leading to a resultant choice
overarching cognitive domain: the hypercategory of ‘phase’, or
‘transitional continuity’; the role of the current discourse unit
in the on-line communicative flow of discourse
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probabilistic
Direction of pitch in accent is
probabilistic
 ...(0.6) Тут ..(0.3) ээ(0.3) ..(0.4) мы
встречаем мою /маму с папой,
Then … we meet my /mom with my dad,
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Direction of pitch in accent is
probabilistic
 ...(0.6) Тут ..(0.3) ээ(0.3) ..(0.4) мы
встречаем мою \ма му с папой,
Then … we meet my /mom with my dad,
If this kind of online correction is
possible, this demonstrates that there
is a zone in which a decision on the
choice is fairly hard to arrive at.
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Further features of multifactorial, probabilistic choices
 Can be very quick
 Routinized
 Hardly consciously made
 But very efficient and very important:
 lack of the ability to perform aforementioned
choices would mean a real aphasia
 Don’t have to be discrete, can be
continuous
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Role of choice in language
 Grammar can be viewed as a system
guiding various linguistic choices
 I find it surprising that the notion of
choice is not salient in discussions of
language production
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Questions for
interdisciplinary discussion
 Is the notion of ‘choice’ important to other


cognitive domains besides language?
Is the notion of choice useful for the general
enterprise of cognitive science?
Cf. behavioral analogs of linguistic mini-choices:
 braking or accelerating in driving
 using right or left hand when reaching for an object
 order of biting and supping during a meal
 In psychology, ‘choice’ and ‘decision making’ are
mostly discussed in the context of complex
cognitive processes that involve reasoning
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Occasional usage in
psychology
 “For example, a boxer facing an opponent who
can attack with the left or right fist must make a
fast decision about what to do. In situations like
this, the ‘choice’ reaction time is substantially
longer, mainly reflecting the increased
processing demands associated with selecting
and programming the appropriate action.”
(Jos J. Adam and Martinus J. Bueckers. Action.
In: Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science. London:
Nature Publishing Group. 2003. Vol. 1, pp. 1420).
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Concluding suggestions
 Speech, and behavior in general, are full of
making choices
 It is important to explore the types of
choices and their characteristic properties
 Particularly interesting are multi-factorial
choices as they present a big challenge to
our explanatory models
 A theory is necessary of how the relevant
factors interact and how their differential
weights give rise to a resultant net effect 25
Making the right choice is
important
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Sometimes it is really
probabilistic
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But not making a choice can
even be lethal
Buridan’s ass
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