Grounding: The Epistemic Footing of Deixis and Reference (Cognitive Linguistics Research)

This compilation of invited contributions, gathering an international collection of cognitive and functional linguists, offers an outline of original empirical work carried out in grounding theory. Grounding is a central notion in cognitive grammar that addresses the linking of semantic content to contextual factors that constitute the subjective ground (or situation of speech). The volume illustrates a growing concern with the application of cognitive grammar to constructions establishing deixis and reference. It proposes a double focus on nominal and clausal grounding, as well as on ways of integrating analyses across these domains. Acknowledgments 6 List of contributors 8 Introduction: The epistemic basis of deixis and reference 12 Deixis and subjectivity 36 Remarks on the English grounding systems 64 Part I: Nominal grounding 74 Grounding, subjectivity and definite descriptions 76 Interaction, grounding and third-person referential forms 118 The French imparfait, determiners and grounding 148 Deictic principles of pronominals, demonstratives, and tenses 186 Part II: Clausal grounding 230 The meaning and distribution of French mood inflections 232 The English present 286 The preterit and the imperfect as grounding predications 334 A cognitive grammar analysis of Polish nonpast perfectives and imperfectives: How virtual events differ from actual ones 384 “Wieso sollte ich dich küssen, du hässlicher Mensch!“. A study of the German modals sollen and müssen as “grounding predications” in interrogatives 426 Grounding and the system of epistemic expressions in Dutch: A cognitive-functional view Jan Nuyts 468 Subject index 502 Introduction: The Epistemic Basis Of Deixis And Reference / Frank Brisard -- Deixis And Subjectivity / Ronald W. Langacker -- Remarks On The English Grounding Systems / Ronald W. Langacker -- Grounding, Subjectivity And Definite Descriptions / Richard Epstein -- Interaction, Grounding And Third-person Referential Forms / Ritva Laury -- The French Imparfait, Determiners And Grounding / Walter De Mulder And Carl Vetters -- Deictic Principles Of Pronominals, Demonstratives, And Tenses / Theo A.j.m. Janssen -- The Meaning And Distribution Of French Mood Inflections / Michael Achard -- The English Present / Frank Brisard -- The Preterit And The Imperfect As Grounding Predictions / Aintzane Doiz-bienzobas. Edited By Frank Brisard. Some Of The Papers Presented During The 7th International Pragmatics Conference, Held In Budapest, Hungary In July 2000. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Main description: This compilation of invited contributions, gathering an international collection of cognitive and functional linguists, offers an outline of original empirical work carried out in grounding theory. Grounding is a central notion in cognitive grammar that addresses the linking of semantic content to contextual factors that constitute the subjective ground (or situation of speech). The volume illustrates a growing concern with the application of cognitive grammar to constructions establishing deixis and reference. It proposes a double focus on nominal and clausal grounding, as well as on ways of integrating analyses across these domains Grounding is proposed as a technical term in Cognitive Grammar1 to characterize grammatical predications that indicate the relationship of a designated entity to the ground or situation of speech, including the speech event itself, its participants, and their respective spheres of knowledge. Biographical note: Frank Brisard is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Fund for Scientific Research, University of Antwerpen, Belgium