How Do Speakers Define the Meaning of Expressions? The Case of German "x heißt y" ("x means y")

Autor/in	Helmer, Henrike
Titel	How Do Speakers Define the Meaning of Expressions? The Case of German "x heißt y" ("x means y")
Quelle	In: Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 57 (2020) 3, S.278-299 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0163-853X
DOI	10.1080/0163853X.2019.1646567
Schlagwörter	German; Language Patterns; Speech Communication; Interaction; Semantics; Definitions + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Deutscher; Sprachmodell; Sprachstruktur; Interaktion; Semantik; Begriffsbestimmung
Abstract	To secure mutual understanding in interaction, speakers sometimes explain or negotiate expressions. Adopting a conversation analytic and interaction linguistic approach, I examine how participants explain which kinds of expressions in different sequential environments, using the format "x heißt y" ("x means y"). When speakers use it to clarify technical terms or foreign words that are unfamiliar to co-participants, they often provide a situationally anchored definition that however is rather context-free and therefore transferable to future situations. When they explain common (but indexical, ambiguous, polysemous, or problematic) expressions instead, speakers always design their explanation strongly connected to the local context, building on situational circumstances. I argue that "x heißt y" definitions in interaction do not meet the requirements of scientific or philosophical definitions but that this is irrelevant for the situational exigencies speakers face. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01