Grounding and Relational Schemas in Managalase, Papua New Guinea

Cultural Linguistics assumes that cultural schemas emerge from the interactions among members of social groups and provide grounding for language and social interaction. Consequently, an investigation of the dynamics of social relationships is central to understanding this process. In part, this requires an appreciation of the social relationships among members of the society as speakers and audience members who seek what is commonly referred to as “common ground” for activity-oriented interaction. Using data from the Managalase of Papua New Guinea this chapter examines how social relations ground cultural schemas of relatedness, personhood and epistemology, and shape their distribution within a society. These cultural schemas and their instantiation in social interaction raise questions about the nature and role of “common ground” and intersubjectivity in language-based social interaction, highlight the importance of viewpoint and perspective in construal, and reassess the ways that speakers and audiences use language to mediate collaboration for joint action.