Language, Culture, and Knowledge in Context - A Functional-Cognitive Approach - Brian Nolan

Language, Culture, and Knowledge in Context - A Functional-Cognitive Approach - Brian Nolan

Salience, Context, and Common Ground

Language, Culture, and Knowledge in Context - A Functional-Cognitive Approach - Brian Nolan

Brian Nolan [+-]
Technological University Dublin (retired)
Dr. Brian Nolan is a retired Head of School of Informatics and Engineering at the Technological University Dublin, in Ireland. His research interests include linguistic theory at the morpho-syntactic semantic interface, argument structure and valence, constructions in grammar, event structure in language, the architecture of the lexicon and computational approaches to language processing, computational linguistics, speech act theory, context and common ground. His linguistic work has been in the functional linguistic model of Role and Reference Grammar and he has published extensively internationally. In 2012 Dr. Nolan published his book with Equinox on the linguistic structure of Irish in a Role and Reference Grammar account entitled The structure of Modern Irish: A functional account. In 2013, Benjamins published his co-edited volume Linking constructions into functional linguistics – The role of constructions in grammar in their Studies in Language Companion series. His co-edited Benjamin volume on computational linguistics and linguistic theory, Language processing and grammars: The role of functionally oriented computational models was published in 2014, also in their Studies in Language Companion series. He also co-edited a Benjamins book on ‘Causation, transfer and permission’ in linguistic theory, which appeared in early 2015. In January 2017, Benjamins published his co-edited book on complex predication entitled Argument realisation in complex predicates and complex events: Verb verb constructions at the syntax semantic interface. In 2019, Dr. Nolan co-edited a volume with Cambridge Scholars Publishing on the ‘Linguistic perspectives on the construction of meaning and knowledge: The linguistic, pragmatic, ontological and computational dimensions’.

Description

Chapter 9, Salience, context, and common ground, discusses the nature of salience and its relationship to context and common ground. The chapter examines the factors that correlate with salience. Salience correlates with attention and memory access, and plays a role in information packaging of utterances in a dialogue. The information status of the discourse referents in turn corelates with accessibility and salience. A special significance is reserved for salience in a consideration of the dynamics of the construction and maintenance of common ground, and the management of knowledge and information flow. It is recognised that some knowledge can become readily available in cognition, more so than other elements of knowledge, in the communicative process. Salience can occur for both a speaker and a hearer, and when convergence occurs for both, the salient ‘thing’, enters common ground and the co-construction of common ground is established. Salience therefore selects contending entities of various kinds as candidates for inclusion into common ground.

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Citation

Nolan, Brian . Salience, Context, and Common Ground. Language, Culture, and Knowledge in Context - A Functional-Cognitive Approach. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 179-206 Mar 2022. ISBN 9781800501928. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=41901. Date accessed: 27 Apr 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.41901. Mar 2022

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