A dialogic view on construal: A study on the instantiations of wh-interrogative words in wh-dialogues

Authors

  • Guocai Zeng

    Sichuan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18063/fls.v4i1.1455

Abstract

As the basic notion in cognitive grammar, construal is expounded from various aspects in terms of different conversational purposes in linguistic communication. Based on the well-discussed dimensions of construal from Langacker's view, this study investigates the dimensions of construal from a dialogic view, particularly in cases of English wh-dialogues, with the aim of deciphering how the dialogic focus, the wh-word positioned at the head of the wh-question, is cognitively grounded in the answer. According to the ways that such wh-words are grounded, the dynamic adjustment of dialogic focuses in wh-dialogues is then examined, hopefully to shed some light on the interpretation of the utterance meaning from a dialogic view.

Keywords:

construal; wh-word; dialogic construction; grounding; utterance meaning

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Vol. 4 , Iss. 1 (September 2022)

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Article

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Copyright © 2022 Guocai Zeng

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.