32.3072, Review: Cognitive Science; Pragmatics; Semantics: Tantucci (2021)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-32-3072. Wed Sep 29 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.3072, Review: Cognitive Science; Pragmatics; Semantics: Tantucci (2021)

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Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:05:38
From: Chih-Hsin Hsu [chsu5 at atu.edu]
Subject: Language and Social Minds

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36728557


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/32/32-1631.html

AUTHOR: Vittorio  Tantucci
TITLE: Language and Social Minds
SUBTITLE: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Intersubjectivity
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2021

REVIEWER: Chih-Hsin Hsu, Arkansas Tech University

SUMMARY

This book argues we, as members of a social group, are a constitutive element
of our linguistics acts, evident in semantic, pragmatic, and grammatical
concepts via linguistic utterances. A schematic mechanism allows us to process
social interactions and cognitively, gradually, collectively produce
formulation of linguistic acts, progressing from a speaker’s own goal-oriented
behavior, addressee-oriented, to society-oriented linguistic acts; such a
process the author Tantucci regards as reaching social proficiency in
language, beyond language acquisition and grammatical development.
 
Drawing on interdisciplinary theory of cognitive psychology, semantics, and
pragmatics, this book proposes the gradience model as a theoretical framework
and a corpus methodology to explain linguistic acts under the ontogenetic
spectrum and identify social proficiency in language use. Tantucci argues
“there is a gradient relationship between linguistic acts that are based on
the intersubjective awareness of specific interlocutors, and linguistic acts
that are otherwise grounded in an awareness of social cognition and collective
intentionality” (p. xv)--awareness of the emotions/beliefs of a specific
persona, and awareness of social values, conventions, and institutions (i.e.,
collective construals; social persona). The former is defined as immediate
intersubjectivity (I-I) while the latter is extended intersubjectivity (E-I).
We expose, acquire, repeat, interact, produce metalingusitic expressions
through the two schemas--I-I and E-I. Additionally, the author proposes a
corpus methodology to illustrate how a new theoretical framework--the
gradience model--can help us tackle intersubjectivity, which is an overtly
encoded and increasingly complex dimension of naturalistic interaction. The
model can serve as a new way to see or predict a speaker’s linguistic
abilities of ontogenetic development from a literal expression of their own
needs to intersubjective expressions of understanding interlocutors’ minds.
 
This book is organized into three parts around the gradience model. Part I
consists of two chapters; Chapter 1 introduces the gradience model of
intersubjectivity, and Chapter 2 outlines the model theoretically and the
approach methodologically. Part I argues sematic-pragmatic changes happen from
the intermediate intersubjective meaning to the extended intersubjective
meaning during social interaction. At the later stages of intersubjectivity,
there is recognized social convention. When shifting meanings, speakers tend
to mitigate what is said or use hedges like actually and unfortunately. Such
speech acts allow speakers to present the collective meaning, showing the
awareness of collectively recognized conventions.
 
Part II includes Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Chapter 3 illustrates the use of the
gradience model and “provide[s] a corpus-based application of the framework to
semasiological change in a number of constructions in American English,
British English, Mandarin Chinese and other world languages” (p. 49). Chapter
4 continues to look at the gradience model as it reflects on children’s social
fluency acquisition and identifies three- and four-year-old children’s
linguistic acquisition from literal meanings (co-actional usages), immediate
intersubjectivity (I-I), to extended intersubjectivity (E-I) usages
respectively. The E-I usages indicate speakers can interact as members of a
social group utilizing conventional meaning/common sense/moral judgment of
socially expected behavior.

Finally, Part III, only containing Chapter 5, proposes that the immediate and
extended interactions contribute to the schematic formulation of linguistic
acts. Moreover, this gradience model of intersubjectivity can be potentially
applied to look into high-level autistic interaction as an indicator on the
social proficiency spectrum, particularly on linguistic ability for making
linguistic acts towards collective social awareness. Additionally, the
intersubjective gradience model Tantucci developed can be applied to assist
children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to learn social minds and produce
linguistic acts of social proficiency. The author suggested the corpus-based
analysis of spontaneous ASD speech can shed new light on the children’s
gradient ability on the intersubjective spectrum, ranging from inability to
communicate to the contextual capacity to express awareness.

EVALUATION

Combining theory from cognitive psychology, semantics, and pragmatics, the
book has successfully led readers to explore a new model that can deepen their
understanding of social proficiency by examining polysemies coded on
linguistic acts. Profoundly, Tantucci underpins the gradience model he
proposed as a theoretical framework and suggests an innovative corpus
methodology to explain linguistic acts under the ontogenetic spectrum and
identify social proficiency stages of language use.
 
The author also demonstrates corpus-based analysis to see the linguistic
abilities involved in the understanding of other minds. Given linguistic act
examples from a corpus are well illustrated to prove semantic-pragmatic
meaning changes. Such speech acts allow speakers to present the collective
meaning, showing the awareness of collectively recognized conventions. It may
be worth extending the research into examining second language acquisition and
providing indicators to analyze the second language learners’ social language
proficiency. It can also shed new light on EFL instruction and online English
exposure settings. Furthermore, it may be worth extending the research into
social minds to study how speakers help construct social cognitions by
examining diachronic linguistic interactions, and ultimately, how new social
minds come into being.
 
On closer look, the book is based on the assumption that mind-reading (Theory
of Mind) and intersubjectivity are gradient, and the gradience model can be
applied in a variety of languages. In the continuum in language change and
ontogenetic development, the author discusses the complexity of the linguistic
forms that shift from the benefits and needs of the speaker, to the
interlocutor’s reactions to what is being said, to any social member’s
reactions to what is being said as well as social convention awareness. One
complication is that speakers exercise the linguistic form of social awareness
to build rapport with the interlocutor, and the “you” no longer implies anyone
but a specific persona. In some instances, speakers manipulate linguistic
forms to highlight social convention awareness, but they intend to achieve
personal gains.   
 
Some might also object to the above assumption when enculturation of certain
societies tends to discourage the pursuit of self needs and profits, including
language expression, and admire talks that care for the whole society. In
communication, we see that individualists will confidently engage in direct
requests, justifying these as the most clear and effective ways to achieve a
goal, while collectivists tend toward indirect requests aimed at preserving
the relationship between the communicating parties (Toomey, Dorjee, &
Ting-Toomey, 2013). Recall that studies characterize communication in western,
individualist cultures as “low-context.” Low-context communication involves
making intentions and desires explicit, bypassing socially palliative small
talk in the pursuit of a goal. Americans, for example, often use clear
subjects and strong verbal indications of their desires when they speak,
frequently starting off with “I want” or “I need” (Okabe, 1983). In contrast,
high-context cultural communication may forego a subject entirely, declining
to indicate the individual self, and employ flexible qualifiers such as
‘perhaps’, ‘maybe’, and ‘probably’ throughout the discourse process (Okabe,
1983). Chinese people, for instance, are observed communicated with
interlocutors in either “physical” or “internalized” context (Hall, 1976 p.
79) which presents implicit messages and implied intentions in communication
for group harmony. Thus, the gradience model under the aforementioned
assumption (i.e. the author assumes that Theory of Mind and intersubjectivity
are gradient, and the gradience model can be applied in a variety of
languages) seems to restrict linguistic forms inadvertently to a narrower
range of speech acts that omit low-context communication characteristics.
 
As the book generally presents a thorough examination of the topic, many
concepts around the model seem repetitive throughout the book. While this
repetition helps readers get a clearer picture of the main arguments, having a
section, such as the Figure 5.2,  dedicated to the model spectrum from the
beginning would better situate readers for understanding the framework and
directions of the arguments presented. In each part, anchored on the spectrum,
adding different aspects of content in greater detail to explain the model
from various angles would strengthen the overall quality of this book.
 
In the same vein, a more systematic, logical method to present complicated
discussions would also allow for better comprehension. While the author
clearly stated the purpose of each section, such as “I will argue…,I am going
to discuss…, and I finally touch upon possible applications…”, it might be
helpful to include lower-level and more specific subheadings to lead the
discussion. For instance, using more subheadings with direct titles often
helps readers navigate the content with ease. For instance, for 1.7
Conclusion, 1.7 Conclusions and Fundamental Assumptions of the Gradience
Approach gives a more representative context. Also, while an index section and
an abbreviation list are provided for reference, two sections can be logically
placed nearby, and a glossary section that includes definitions of
abbreviations along with the corresponding page numbers from the text will
help readers easily revisit terms such as EI/Extended Intersubjectivity, SP/W,
P, and key linguistic concepts.
 
Overall, this book achieves its goals of proposing the intersubjective
gradience model as a theoretical framework and suggesting a corpus methodology
to explain linguistic acts under the ontogenetic spectrum and to identify
social proficiency stages of language use. With a new interdisciplinary model
and a corpus methodology, this book has advanced the research of
intersubjectivity and social minds in linguistic acts. Furthermore, along the
spectrum of ASD, the book sheds new light on identifying the intersubjective
gradient ability of individuals with ASD.
 
REFERENCES

Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press.

Okabe, R. (1983). Cultural assumptions of east and west: Japan and the United
States. In
W. Gudykunst (Ed.), Intercultural communication theory: Current perspectives
(pp. 21-44). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Toomey, A., Dorjee, T., Ting-Toomey, S. (2013). Bicultural identity
negotiation, conflicts, and intergroup communication strategies. Journal of
Intercultural Communication Research, 42(2), 112–134,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.785973


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr. Chih-Hsin Hsu is an assistant professor of English/TESOL and the M.A.
TESOL program director at Arkansas Tech University. Dr. Hsu’s research
interests include intercultural communication, sociolinguistics, applied
linguistics for ESL/Bilingual Education teachers, ESL/bilingual curriculum
design, and program assessment.





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