Interlocutor (linguistics)

This article is about a person involved in a conversation. For a grammatical case which identifies the person being addressed, see Vocative case.
For other uses, see Interlocutor (disambiguation).

In linguistics, discourse analysis, and related fields, an interlocutor is a person involved in a conversation or dialogue. Two or more people speaking to one another are each other's interlocutors.[1][2] The terms conversation partner,[3] hearer,[4] or addressee[5] are often used interchangeably with interlocutor.

Linguistic alignment

Linguistic alignment is the idea that interlocutors involved in a conversation will re-use their partners' phrases for ease of understanding. This is a form of unconscious mimicry in order to facilitate communication.[6] In task-oriented conversations, lexical alignment increased performance most when the interlocutors' shared vocabulary most directly related to the task at hand.[7]

In situations where a participant is primed by a recording, rather than a human interlocutor, they are less likely to exhibit linguistic alignment. This suggests that linguistic choices are influenced by the interlocutor's communicative intent.[8]

Interlocutor interaction

According to Paul Grice, the behavior of interlocutors in ordinary conversation is governed by the cooperative principle.[9]

Interlocutors with different native languages

Research has shown that interlocutors will match their language's complexity to their partner interlocutor's language ability.[6] Furthermore, when one interlocutor is a native speaker and another is a learner of a particular language, interlocutors will modify their communication strategies.[10]

Studies have also shown that language-related misunderstandings in a conversation between a native interlocutor and a learner interlocutor are more likely to be resolved than between two non-native interlocutors.[11]

Interlocutors with different dialects of the same language

When using dialectically ambiguous words, participants will take into account the dialect their interlocutor is using in order to deduce the most likely meaning. For instance, if a British English interlocutor says "flat," the addressee will likely assume they mean "apartment."[12]

See also

Look up interlocutor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ "interlocutor noun". Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Merriam Webster. 2003. ISBN 0-87779-809-5.
  2. ^ Meyerhoff, Miriam (2013). "Routledge Sociolinguistics Glossary". Introducing Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  3. ^ Thomas, Margaret (2011). Fifty Key Thinkers on Language and Linguistics. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-415-37302-9. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  4. ^ Buchstaller, Isabelle and Ingrid Van Alphen, ed. (2012). "Appendix: Glossary of specialist terms for research in quotation". Quotatives: Cross-linguistic and Cross-disciplinary Perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 285. ISBN 978-90-272-3905-1. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  5. ^ Whitley, M. Stanley (2002). Spanish-English Contrasts: A Course in Spanish Linguistics. Georgetown University Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-87840-381-3. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  6. ^ a b Cai, Zhenguang G.; Sun, Zhuying; Zhao, Nan (2021-12-01). "Interlocutor modelling in lexical alignment: The role of linguistic competence". Journal of Memory and Language. 121 104278. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2021.104278. ISSN 0749-596X.
  7. ^ Fusaroli, Riccardo (2012). "Coming to Terms: Quantifying the Benefits of Linguistic Coordination". Psychological Science. 23 (8). doi:10.1177/0956797612436816 – via Sage Journals.
  8. ^ Schoot, Lotte; Hagoort, Peter; Segaert, Katrien (2019-03-27). "Stronger Syntactic Alignment in the Presence of an Interlocutor". Frontiers in Psychology. 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00685. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 6445862.
  9. ^ Grice, Herbert Paul (1975). "Logic and conversation". In Cole, P.; Morgan, J. L. (eds.). Syntax and semantics. Vol. 3: Speech acts. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 41–58.
  10. ^ Rosas-Maldonado, Maritza (2017-11-01). "Use of communication strategies in an interactional context: The interlocutor influence". Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics. 53 (4): 563–592. doi:10.1515/psicl-2017-0021. ISSN 1897-7499.
  11. ^ Fernández Dobao, Ana (2012-07-01). "Collaborative Dialogue in Learner–Learner and Learner–Native Speaker Interaction". Applied Linguistics. 33 (3). doi:10.1093/applin/ams002. ISSN 0142-6001. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14.
  12. ^ Cai, Zhenguang G. (2022). "Interlocutor modelling in comprehending speech from interleaved interlocutors of different dialectic backgrounds". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 29 (3): 1026–1034. doi:10.3758/s13423-022-02055-7. ISSN 1531-5320. PMID 35106731.


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