Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm
Grammar at work:
The interplay between language and social interaction
Traditionally, grammar has been viewed as a cognitive system of rules governing the morphosyntax of a given language. In my talk, I discuss a different view of grammar, one informed by research in conversation analysis and interactional linguistics. In these fields, grammar is viewed as an organized system that is dynamic, context-dependent and emergent in the moment-by-moment unfolding of social interaction. Focusing on practices which speakers use to get others to do things (e.g., requesting, prompting, etc.), I demonstrate how grammar is shaped by interaction. I do this by examining the interplay between linguistic structure (e.g., an imperative versus a declarative), prosodic features (e.g., stress, pitch) and embodied resources (e.g., gaze, body posture, gesture), as well as their relative and temporal position within conversation. In the second part of my talk, I discuss the implications of the findings of this line of research for second language studies, in particular, for analyzing learners’ language use in interaction and for language teacher training.
Inaugural lectures celebrate Arts and Humanities faculty who have been promoted to the rank of professor. . All lectures are held in the Faculty Club Grand Lounge from 4-6 p.m. and are preceded by a reception and followed by Q&A and discussion. All lectures are free and open to the public and will also be live streamed.
The Arts and Humanities Inaugural Lecture Series is sponsored by The Humanities Collaboratory and The College of Arts and Sciences.
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