Many psycholinguists assume that the primary purpose of language is communication (arguments for this assumption: Fedorenko et al., 2024in; against: Chomsky, 1995). However, our current methods for studying the mechanisms and the architecture of spoken language belie this, often tacit, assumption. For instance, current accounts of speech perception and production are derived chiefly from experimental studies that prioritize experimental control over studying actual communication. This leaves open the question of how well the identified mechanisms generalize to actual communicative interactions.
In this talk, Navin Viswanathan attempts to examine the assumptions and the consequences of taking such a methodological approach. He then proceeds to discuss the primary account of interactive language use (interactive alignment model; Pickering and Garrod, 2013; 2004) and its instantiation at the phonetic level (Gambi & Pickering, 2013). In particular, he examines closely the claim that the default mechanism in interaction is one of mimicry (or alignment or convergence). He concludes this presentation by arguing for the need for having more general accounts of interaction and present a possible candidate in the dialogic synergy account (Fusaroli et al., 2014; at the phonetic level Olmstead et al., 2021).