34.2826, Review: The Grammar of Interactives: Heine (2023)

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Subject: 34.2826, Review: The Grammar of Interactives: Heine (2023)

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Date: 21-Aug-2023
From: Reza Kazemian [reza.kazemian.linguistics at gmail.com]
Subject: Anthropological 
Linguistics, Morphology, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, Syntax: Heine (2023)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.1600

AUTHOR: Bernd Heine
TITLE: The Grammar of Interactives
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Reza Kazemian

Summary

After nearly a decade since the recognition of the importance of
theticals, traditionally referred to as parenthetical constructions
(see Kaltenböck et al. 2010; Heine et al. 2013), there has been a
flurry of research on these linguistic elements across various
languages, including but not limited to Romance languages (Schneider,
2007), Chinese (Long et al., 2019), Persian (Kazemian & Amouzadeh,
2019), and Arabic (Haddad, 2020). However, it appears that theticals
still remain relatively understudied and warrant more comprehensive
and fresh examination. This lack of interest in studying theticals,
particularly those inherent in interaction, has prompted Bernd Heine
to undertake writing a new book, “The Grammar of Interactives”,
dedicated to these items. He analyzes them as a distinct level called
interactive grammar (IG) which works alongside sentence grammar (SG)
to facilitate successful communication. The book is structured in a
cohesive and organized manner, consisting of an introduction, six main
chapters, and a conclusion, totaling eight chapters in all. This
structure properly presents the book's content by establishing the
context and scope in the introduction, delving into the subject matter
in the core chapters, each exploring a specific theme related to the
overall subject, and providing a sense of closure and reflection in
the conclusion.
Chapter One starts off by Heine’s criticism on the way mainstream
linguistic writings treat interactives. Most of these studies have
adopted rather negative labels (e.g., step-child, marginal phenomenon,
mixed-bag category, etc.), and some of them even have ignored these
important elements in social interactions. Aside from speaking out
against traditional attitudes, Heine calls for reconsideration of
interactive elements in a comprehensive way. Centering around the
notion, definition, and properties of interactives, the remaining part
of Chapter One seeks to introduce and elucidate relevant issues
through illustrative examples. By “interactive”, Heine refers to “an
invariable deictic form that is in some way set off from the
surrounding text semantically, syntactically and prosodically and can
neither be negated nor questioned” (7). However, this definition is
only a prototypical one, and does not make a discrete category of
interactives but rather a graded one. That is, if we consider a radial
categorization (cf. Lakoff 1987), central members are more
prototypical; and the main concern of this book is also with the core
members of categories. As for definitional properties of interactives,
Heine catalogues seven of them in terms of morphology, syntax,
meaning, prosody, indexical status, negation, and interrogation.
Chapter Two moves beyond establishing definitive main characteristics
of interactives and focuses on the meaning components, namely
descriptive and expressive meaning. Additionally, this chapter
revolves around the differentiation of various types of interactives
by examining argument structure. Notions such as structure, argument,
predicate, constituent, and thematic role are typically considered
essential features of SG. However, valence is an intrinsic property of
interactives, and without taking their arguments into account, their
use is incomplete. This is why Heine argues that the notion of
argument structure should be necessarily extended to IG. It is
important to note that this extension is not exactly parallel to
argument structure in SG. This is because the placement and function
of IG are anchored and shaped by the discourse situation, and are
derivatives of their role in the ongoing discourse. Heine classifies
interactives with reference to whether they have one argument (Sender/
Speaker or Theme), two arguments (Sender/Speaker, and Hearer) or three
arguments (Sender/Speaker, Hearer, and Theme).
Chapter Three, tightly connected to the concepts discussed in the
preceding chapter, forms the centerpiece of the book. This is
evidenced by its substantial length, constituting one quarter of the
book, in which ten types of interactives (i.e., attention signals,
directives, discourse markers, evaluatives, ideophones, interjections,
response elicitors, response signals, social formulae, and vocatives)
appear on the scene. One notable aspect of this section is the
author's clear and easily understandable presentation. Each
interactive is introduced with a precise definition and is accompanied
by illustrative examples. Additionally, Heine provides a detailed
analysis of these interactives, focusing on four key attributes: their
argument structure, the formation of their individual utterances,
distinctive phonological features, and reduplication patterns. To aid
in comprehension, a concise tabulation of all ten interactives
regarding the four features is included. Heine also acknowledges that
the list provided is not exhaustive, and encourages further research
to compile a more comprehensive catalogue of interactive expressions.
Chapter Four builds on the earlier discussions on synchronic aspects
of interactives and delves further into diachronic aspects of
interactive grammar. It aims to shed light on the emergence of
interactives and explores two key developmental issues within
discourse grammar, namely, cooptation and grammaticalization theory.
To begin with, Chapter Four provides a concise literature review of
these two mechanisms, and subsequently examines each interactive in
relation to these concepts. To this end, Heine shows that
grammaticalization theory offers valuable insights into the
challenging task of categorizing interactives, as they often defy
clear boundaries; instead, they exhibit diverse functions, displaying
polysemy and multifunctionality within different contexts.
Chapter Five deals with the background discussion of interactive
grammar and provides an overview of similar approaches and
foundational principles that underlie interactives. In this section,
Heine presents a comprehensive review of studies employing a dualistic
approach. He extensively explores dualism in discourse grammar and
expands this perspective to encompass other related domains such as
semiotics, social psychology, and neurolinguistics, which have been
largely overlooked in previous investigations. Particularly noteworthy
is the revelation of the neurolinguistic implications of interactives,
highlighting their strong reliance on the right hemisphere, instead of
the traditionally attributed left hemisphere responsible for language
comprehension and production, thereby shedding light on the
neurolinguistic aspects of interactives. Heine emphasizes that
language is the outcome of a joint process involving both cerebral
hemispheres, rather than the exclusive domain of one hemisphere.
Chapter Six provides an overdue presentation of the ontological status
of interactives, as it should have been addressed earlier. Examining
the grammar tradition, the chapter seeks to uncover the authentic
essence of interactives, raising significant ontological inquiries and
trying to address them. The chapter also, though not deeply, delves
into the realm of language contact and the acquisition of
interactives. A rather similar treatment can be found in Heine et al
(2021) (see Kazemian, 2022). Finally, the chapter briefly touches upon
the evolutionary aspects of human language in relation to
interactives.
Chapter Seven, being relatively short, could have been integrated into
other chapters in order to create a more cohesive structure.
Nevertheless, this chapter focuses on two essential inquiries: (a) how
to differentiate sentence grammar from interactive grammar and (b) how
these grammars contribute to the organization of discourse. These
inquiries provide valuable insights into the boundaries of these two
grammars for readers and students of discourse grammar.
The final chapter serves as the culmination of the book, providing a
comprehensive overview of the main topics covered in the preceding
chapters. Its primary aim is to ensure that readers possess a thorough
understanding of the subject matter. Moreover, this chapter includes
reflective insights that go beyond mere summarization, offering
suggestions for future avenues of research. Heine extends an
invitation to readers, encouraging them to remain engaged with the
topic and to make valuable contributions towards enhancing the
proposed framework. By fostering a spirit of collaboration, the book
actively invites readers to become active participants in the field.

Evaluation

The monograph, as a whole, exhibits commendable qualities. It is
written in a lucid and reader-friendly manner, providing clear
explanation of the framework. Further, each chapter is accompanied by
enlightening introductions and conclusions facilitating the process of
reading and guiding readers through the book. In addition to its
formal features, the monograph presents a fresh theoretical
perspective in this field, potentially paving the way for numerous
prospective cross-linguistic studies.
What makes Heine's work stand out from similar studies is his unique
approach. Unlike other studies that predominantly use examples from an
Anglo-Saxon cultural context, Heine incorporates a significant number
of examples from various other languages, particularly African ones.
While some may argue that using English content would be easier for an
audience with a similar cultural background, this is not necessarily a
drawback. In fact, the inclusion of examples from diverse languages
can be seen as a positive step towards breaking free from the
dominance of a specific language. By doing so, Heine promotes a
cross-linguistic understanding of interactive grammar.
Among the many strengths of the volume are the specific attention
devoted to paralinguistic features of interactives such as their
multimodal (e.g. discussion on gesture) and prosodic aspects, that are
traditionally overlooked in linguistic works on discourse grammar and
theticals. While Heine’s attention to these aspects and their
integration should be admired, I believe they have not been discussed
thoroughly and that these are areas of the book that readers may wish
to have had more information about. Recognizing the significance of
these interactive features can yield valuable insights into studies
investigating the multifaceted aspects of communication. This
recognition holds substantial implications for emerging fields such as
speech recognition and machine learning. The development of robust
models and training data for machines assumes paramount importance in
this new era, as interactives facilitate not only enhanced
human-to-human interaction but also interactions involving robots (cf.
Marge et al., 2022). Consequently, delving deeper into the
understanding and exploration of these interactive attributes stands
to benefit both scholarly endeavors and practical applications in
various domains.
What I find myself in disagreement with is the structure of the book,
particularly the order of the chapters. The current sequence of
chapters does not guide the reader effectively through the content in
a logical and cohesive manner. For instance, the book commences with
an introduction, but then rather abruptly moves to the intricacies of
interactives without adequately providing background information for
readers who may not be familiar with this subject matter.
Additionally, it is puzzling that from Chapter 5 onwards, the book
reverts to a literature review-like approach. Therefore, rearranging
specific chapters, namely Chapters 5, 6, and 7, could greatly benefit
the book by creating a more seamless flow of ideas. Such restructuring
would enable readers to better grasp the conceptual progression and
connections between disparate topics. While I acknowledge that the
arrangement of chapters is a subjective decision on the part of the
author, I believe that reassessing the chapter order has the potential
to enhance the reading experience and improve the overall coherence of
the book.

References

Haddad, Y. A. (2020). Vocatives as parenthetical adjuncts: Evidence
from Arabic. Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 5(1): 132. 1–37.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.1302

Heine, B., Kaltenböck, G., Kuteva, T. & Long, H. (2013). An Outline of
Discourse Grammar. In S. Bischoff & C. Jany (Ed.), Functional
Approaches to Language (pp. 155-206). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter
Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110285321.155

Heine, B., Kaltenböck, G., Kuteva, T., & Long, H. (2021). References.
In The Rise of Discourse Markers (pp. 273-298). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108982856.012

Kaltenböck, G., Heine, B., & Kuteva, T. (2011). On thetical grammar.
Studies in Language. International Journal sponsored by the Foundation
“Foundations of Language”, 35(4), 852-897.
Kazemian, R., & Amouzadeh, M. (2019). The Study of Va-parenthetical in
Persian. Journal of Linguistics & Khorasan Dialects, 11(2), 255-280.
doi: 10.22067/jlkd.2019.39332
Kazemian, R. (2022). Book review: Bernd Heine, Gunther Kaltenböck,
Tania Kuteva and Haiping Long, The Rise of Discourse Markers.
Discourse Studies, 24(4), 516-518.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456221115246

Lakoff, G. (2008). Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories
reveal about the mind. Chicago: University of Chicago press.
Long, H., Xu, X., Wu, M., & Ursini, F. A. (2019). Formation of the
Modern Chinese clause-taking imperative ni kan ‘you see’: A conjoining
pathway account. Lingua, 232, 102745.
Marge, M., Espy-Wilson, C., Ward, N. G., Alwan, A., Artzi, Y., Bansal,
M., ... & Yu, Z. (2022). Spoken language interaction with robots:
Recommendations for future research. Computer Speech & Language, 71,
101255.

Schneider, S. (2007). Reduced parenthetical clauses in Romance
languages A pragmatic typology. In N. Dehé & Y. Kavalova (Eds.),
Parentheticals, (pp.237-255). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Reza Kazemian is a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistics and his research is
in the broad area of linguistics. More specifically, he has a keen
interest in the field of pragmatics, discourse analysis, cognitive
linguistics and interactional use of language. His recent publications
include articles in Language & Cognition, Metaphor & Symbol,
Pragmatics, Corpus Pragmatics, Discourse Studies and Journal of
Pragmatics.



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