Interlocutor (linguistics)
In linguistics, discourse analysis, and related fields, an interlocutor is a person involved in a conversation or dialogue. Two or more people speaking to one another are each other's interlocutors.[1][2] The terms conversation partner,[3] hearer,[4] or addressee[5] are often used interchangeably with interlocutor.
Linguistic alignment
[edit]Linguistic alignment is an observed behavior where interlocutors are more likely to use or understand language that they have just heard or said.[6] This is a form of unconscious mimicry in order to facilitate communication.[7] In task-oriented studies, participants were more likely to lexically align when the interlocutors' shared vocabulary most directly related to the task at hand.[8]
In situations where a participant is primed by a recording, rather than a human interlocutor, they are less likely to exhibit linguistic alignment. This suggests that linguistic choices are influenced by the interlocutor's communicative intent.[9]
Notably, linguistic alignment is believed to occur at multiple levels of conversation, including lexical, syntactic, semantic, and situational levels.[10]
Interlocutor interaction
[edit]According to Paul Grice, the behavior of interlocutors in ordinary conversation is governed by the cooperative principle.[11]
Research has shown that interlocutors will match their language's complexity to their partner interlocutor's language ability.[7] Furthermore, when one interlocutor is a native speaker and another is a learner of a particular language, interlocutors will modify their communication strategies.[12]
Studies have also shown that language-related misunderstandings in a conversation between a native interlocutor and a learner interlocutor are more likely to be resolved than between two non-native interlocutors.[13]
When using dialectally ambiguous words, participants will take into account the dialect their interlocutor is using in order to deduce the most likely meaning. For instance, if a British English interlocutor says "flat," the addressee will likely assume they mean "apartment."[14]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ "interlocutor noun". Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Merriam Webster. 2003. ISBN 0-87779-809-5.
- ↑ Meyerhoff, Miriam (2013). "Routledge Sociolinguistics Glossary". Introducing Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
- ↑ Thomas, Margaret (2011). Fifty Key Thinkers on Language and Linguistics. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-415-37302-9. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
- ↑ Buchstaller, Isabelle and Ingrid Van Alphen, ed. (2012). "Appendix: Glossary of specialist terms for research in quotation". Quotatives: Cross-linguistic and Cross-disciplinary Perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 285. ISBN 978-90-272-3905-1. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ↑ Whitley, M. Stanley (2002). Spanish-English Contrasts: A Course in Spanish Linguistics. Georgetown University Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-87840-381-3. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ↑ Bock, J. Kathryn (1986-07-01). "Syntactic persistence in language production". Cognitive Psychology. 18 (3): 355–387. doi:10.1016/0010-0285(86)90004-6. ISSN 0010-0285.
- 1 2 Cai, Zhenguang G.; Sun, Zhuying; Zhao, Nan (2021-12-01). "Interlocutor modelling in lexical alignment: The role of linguistic competence". Journal of Memory and Language. 121 104278. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2021.104278. ISSN 0749-596X.
- ↑ Fusaroli, Riccardo (2012). "Coming to Terms: Quantifying the Benefits of Linguistic Coordination". Psychological Science. 23 (8). doi:10.1177/0956797612436816 – via Sage Journals.
- ↑ Schoot, Lotte; Hagoort, Peter; Segaert, Katrien (2019-03-27). "Stronger Syntactic Alignment in the Presence of an Interlocutor". Frontiers in Psychology. 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00685. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 6445862.
- ↑ Pickering, Martin J.; Garrod, Simon (2004-04-01). "Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 27 (2): 169–190. doi:10.1017/S0140525X04000056. hdl:20.500.11820/8fc8d4d7-f4af-432e-a41e-88fac5929391. ISSN 0140-525X.
- ↑ Grice, Herbert Paul (1975). "Logic and conversation". In Cole, P.; Morgan, J. L. (eds.). Syntax and semantics. Vol. 3: Speech acts. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 41–58.
- ↑ Rosas-Maldonado, Maritza (2017-11-01). "Use of communication strategies in an interactional context: The interlocutor influence". Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics. 53 (4): 563–592. doi:10.1515/psicl-2017-0021. ISSN 1897-7499.
- ↑ Fernández Dobao, Ana (2012-07-01). "Collaborative Dialogue in Learner–Learner and Learner–Native Speaker Interaction". Applied Linguistics. 33 (3). doi:10.1093/applin/ams002. ISSN 0142-6001. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14.
- ↑ Cai, Zhenguang G. (2022). "Interlocutor modelling in comprehending speech from interleaved interlocutors of different dialectic backgrounds". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 29 (3): 1026–1034. doi:10.3758/s13423-022-02055-7. ISSN 1531-5320. PMID 35106731.
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