Lexical Markers of Common Grounds: (3 Studies in Pragmatics)

The multifaceted and heterogeneous category of common ground is central to theories of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse and context. This book addresses current approaches to common ground from the novel perspective of lexical markers. The edited volume falls in two parts. The first part addresses the relationship between mechanisms of grounding and reference to common ground. The second part examines different types of common ground. It is shown that the investigation of lexical markers provides a novel perspective for investigating the relationship between grounding, common ground and common grounds. Contributions are by Sherri L. Condon and Claude G. Cech, Anita Fetzer, Kerstin Fischer, Francois Nemo, Thanh Nyan, Moeko Okada, Carlos Rodriguez Penagos, Karin Pittner and Thora Tenbrink. It reviews current approaches to common ground from the perspective of lexical markers. It is organized into two parts that discuss the relationship between mechanisms of grounding. It is a reference to common ground and the different types of common ground. It reflects current trends in the field that cross methodological boundaries and integrate cognition, context, genre, negotiation of meaning, and dialogue.

Review :
"The nine essays in this volume show just how important common ground and grounding are in language use. ... The result is an intellectual treat for anyone interested in how language is used in its fullest social and cultural context." Herbert H. Clark, Stanford University. Lexical markers of common grounds presents a wide range of detailed analysis on specific linguistic devices (i.e. reformulations, modal particles such as doch, discourse markers such as ok, temporal connectives such as before and after, etc.) and in various kinds of interaction (computer-mediated environments included). A stimulating and multifaceted volume on two central topics of the recent research, where linguistic, pragmatic, cognitive, sociological, and other perspectives meet.' Carla Bazzanelli, University of Turin 'Lexical markers of common ground are a fascinating domain: being themselves information-laden, they are able not only to activate common ground information, but also to accommodate new information as taken for granted, in a grounding process that, on occasion, may come closer to imposition than to negotiation. Their study in this volume opens a new perspective on common ground which views it as both product and process, thus emphasizing its dynamic aspect.' Marina Sbisa, University of Trieste