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Article published In:
Irregular perspective shifts and perspective persistence: Discourse-oriented and theoretical approaches
Edited by Caroline Gentens, María Sol Sansiñena, Stef Spronck and An Van linden
[Pragmatics 29:2] 2019
► pp. 198–225

Recursive embedding of viewpoints, irregularity, and the role for a flexible framework

ORCID logo | Leiden University
| Leiden University

This paper discusses several conventional perspective operators at the lexical, grammatical, and narrative levels. When combined with each other and with particular contexts, these operators can amount to unexpected viewpoints arrangements. Traditional conceptualisations in terms of viewpoint embedding and the regular shifting from one viewpoint to the other are argued to be insufficient for describing these arrangements in all their nuances and details.

We present an analysis of three cases in which viewpoints of speaker, addressee, and third parties are mutually coordinated: (i) global and local perspective structure in Nabokov’s novel Lolita, (ii) postposed reporting constructions in Dutch, and (iii) the Russian apprehensive construction, which has a seemingly redundant negation marker in the subordinate clause. For each of these three cases, we discuss how traditional conceptualisations fall short. We discuss an alternative model of viewpoint construction which allows for the conceptual juxtaposition and mixing of different and simultaneously activated viewpoints.

Keywords: viewpoint embedding, recursive embedding, speech and thought representation, Nabokov, apprehensive construction
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction and background
  • 2.Coordinating perspectives
    • 2.1A three-dimensional conceptual model
    • 2.2Viewpoint embedding: Communicative and cognitive aspects
  • 3.A literary case: Nabokov’s Lolita
    • 3.1The thoughtscape
    • 3.2Conventional patterns, unpredictable viewpoint structure
  • 4.Multiple perspectives in grammar
    • 4.1Citation and inquit constructions in Dutch
    • 4.2The Russian apprehensive construction
  • 5.Conclusion: The role for a flexible framework
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
Published online: 26 March 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.18049.van
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