Research Interest

When we communicate in everyday life, we do not only process the sequence of words we hear; we also combine a variety of other information to convey our intentions to others and to understand the speaker’s intentions. In linguistics, the information that exists (temporally and spatially) around the linguistic expressions in question is referred to as ‘context.’ We study how such context influences the linguistic production and comprehension from the perspective of cognitive linguistics.

Context in Cognitive Linguistics

Cognitive linguistics employs a usage-based approach, which considers grammar not as a set of rules but rather as a memory of patterns of linguistic combinations (i.e. constructions). In the usage-based approach, language acquisition is assumed to be the memorization of frequently observed patterns in linguistic experience as constructions. The external stimuli stored as components of constructions are assumed to include not only linguistic information but also other multimodal information. My research aims to clarify what kind of information is involved in the meaning of linguistic constructions.

Intonation and Meaning

The rise and fall of sounds that reflect the meaning of an entire utterance is called intonation. In spoken conversation, intonation can also play a grammatical role, such as a descending tone for an affirmative sentence and an ascending tone for an interrogative sentence. In Japanese, it has long been known that intonation patterns change according to the intended syntactic structure. Such intonation patterns associated with specific linguistic structures can be considered one of the components of construction. By viewing intonation in terms of construction grammar, we are conducting research that examines the relationship between intonation and the meaning of utterances.

Gesture and Meaning

We use various gestures in our speech during everyday conversations. Gestures often naturally accompany speech, even when the listener cannot see the speaker, such as during telephone conversations. This suggests that gestures are not just auxiliary means of communication, but integral components deeply connected to language use. In fact, many studies have shown that the patterns of gestures that accompany particular utterances vary according to the grammatical features of the speaker’s language. My research primarily focuses on the correspondence between grammatical aspects of language and gestures.