Between You and I: Dialogical Phenomenology

2. Sociolinguistics

C h a P t e r 2 ................................... soCiolinguistiCs In this chapter I turn to linguistics in view of spelling out the ordinary grammatical conception of personal pronouns with the aim of demonstrating the philosophical thesis of primary I–you connectedness. As will become apparent in the course of this discussion, linguistic contributions are not extrinsic to phenomenological accounts of sociality in terms of embodiment and perception but intrinsically interconnected with them. The traditional separation into distinct regions of inquiry may be a trait of the institutionally sanctioned divide between the disciplines of phenomenological philosophy and linguistics that serves to confirm the perceived divide between phenomena and language, rather than a trait of human life examined afresh and with a critical eye to the historically constituted “naturalness” of disciplinary borders. I hope that this critical stance helps to expose the permeability of the perceived borders between their regions of study (lived experience and speech/language). I also hope that by adopting an approach of deliberate suspension of commitment to disciplinary divides, the phenomenon of sociality will reemerge in its embodied/perceptual/linguistic complexity. Personal Pronouns— reConsidering the traditional view (1) Let me begin this analysis with a discussion of the traditional view regarding the grammatical function of personal pronouns. The dictionary definition states that the pronoun is a word serving to replace a previously mentioned noun or name. For example, the name Victoria may be replaced by the personal pronoun “she,” as long as no ambiguity arises within the narrative as to who this pronoun refers. Pronouns would thus be shorthand expressions designating a previously established referent in order to avoid repetition. 54 Between You and i This traditional definition has been playfully rendered in the following extract from The Little Grammar People (Mass 1947, 21): “My whole life is one of deep thought, because, as you can tell by my name, I have to stand in the place of Miss Noun.” “Whatever do you mean?” asked Linda, puzzled. “Doesn’t Miss Noun stand in her own place?” “Oh yes, certainly. Sometimes she does, but not always. You must remember that she leads a very busy life and has to be in an awful number of parts at once, and it’s my business to help her whenever I can.” “That’s interesting,” said Barry. “Let me explain myself more clearly,” Sir Pronoun went on. “When Miss Noun is needed in a sentence she makes quite sure she is there to begin with, but hops away again like quick-silver, partly because she has so much to do and partly because she’s afraid people may grow tired of her. I then step along and say, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen , with your kind permission, I shall represent Miss Noun for a short time, as she was afraid of tiring you and has gone.’ Sometimes I am greeted quite amiably, but other times everybody gets very annoyed, says I don’t make myself at all clear and throws me out of the sentence. Miss Noun then, realizing the situation, appears again in person, and all is well—although, I must admit—” he added dolefully , then paused. “—that all isn’t as well as it might be with you,” Linda suggested. “Exactly,” he replied. . . . . “But Sir Pronoun, just why is it that you have to think so much?” Barry asked. “Because,” the long boy explained, “Miss Noun is so terribly changeable, and as I have to take her place I must be changeable too. I’m positively the whole time trying to decide whether I should now be a ‘personal,’ ‘demonstrative,’ ‘relative,’ or ‘interrogative’ pronoun.” This little amusing dialogue destined for children does not deviate from the widespread adult conception: the pronoun is a grammatical category resembling a mixed bag into which diverse items are stuffed. There are personal soCiolinguistiCs 55 pronouns, wherein the first and second persons (“I,” “you,” (“thou”), plural “we,” “you,” with their cases) stand for the names of the speaker and the person spoken to. Those of the third person (”he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” with their cases) avoid the repetition of a name already mentioned or indicated. Closely related to them are possessive pronouns: adjectives arising out of the original genitive case of personal pronouns (“my/mine,” “your/yours,” “our/ours,” and so forth). Interrogative pronouns (“who?” “what?” “which?”) ask the name, and so on, of a person or thing unknown. Relative pronouns (“who,” “which,” “that”) subordinate...