Interlocutor (linguistics)

This article is about a person involved in a conversation. For a grammatical case which identifies the person being addressed, see Vocative case.

For other uses, see Interlocutor (disambiguation).

In linguistics, discourse analysis, and related fields, an interlocutor is a person involved in a conversation or dialogue. Two or more people speaking to one another are each other's interlocutors.^[1][2] The terms conversation partner,^[3] hearer,^[4] or addressee^[5] are often used interchangeably with interlocutor.

According to Paul Grice, the behavior of interlocutors in ordinary conversation is governed by the cooperative principle.^[6]

See also

• Addressee honorific
• Clusivity
• Common ground (linguistics)
• Conversation analysis
• Discourse

References

1. "interlocutor noun". Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Merriam Webster. 2003. ISBN 0877798095.
2. Meyerhoff, Miriam (2013). "Routledge Sociolinguistics Glossary". Introducing Sociolinguistics, 2nd edition. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
3. Thomas, Margaret (2011). Fifty Key Thinkers on Language and Linguistics. Routledge. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-415-37302-9. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
4. Buchstaller, Isabelle and Ingrid Van Alphen, ed. (2012). "Appendix: Glossary of specialist terms for research in quotation". Quotatives: Cross-linguistic and Cross-disciplinary Perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 285. ISBN 978-90-272-3905-1. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
5. Whitley, M. Stanley (2002). Spanish-English Contrasts: A Course in Spanish Linguistics. Georgetown University Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-87840-381-3. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
6. Grice, Herbert Paul (1975). "Logic and conversation". In Cole, P.; Morgan, J. L. (eds.). Syntax and semantics. Vol. 3: Speech acts. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. pp. 41–58.