Suspending Syntax: Bodily Strain and Progressivity in Talk

Abstract

People speak not only under relaxed conditions but also during strenuous activities, and grammatical resources can be used to achieve displays of strain. This study looks at the relationship between progressivity of talk and bodily strain, focusing on the practice of temporarily suspending syntax while the speaker is accomplishing a physically challenging task. Based on examples from two different physical activities, rock climbing and opera rehearsals, the paper argues that the practice of suspending syntax is a resource available across contexts to render prominence to the strained body and highlight ongoing movement or other bodily action. By placing the strain-based display of incapacity to talk at a moment when the emerging syntactic structure is incomplete, participants maintain rights to resume talk while also presenting themselves as possessing the physical capacity to do so. Suspending syntax is shown to be a minutely timed speakers’ technique that takes advantage of the emergent nature of syntax and that demonstrates how speakers organize language in relation to the sensing and moving body.

The situated deployment of the Italian presentative (e) hai. . ., ‘(and) you have. . .’ within routinized multimodal Gestalts in route mapping with visually impaired climbers

“…In this context, syntactic suspension appears to be designedly employed to prioritize bodily movement. However, unlike the cases analyzed by Hofstetter et al (2021) in which speakers momentarily halt ongoing utterances in favor of carrying out physically demanding embodied actions, in our data syntactic suspension does not appear to be contingently occasioned by physical exertion; rather, it is designed in routine, and therefore predictable , ways to create a dedicated slot in which bodily movement and touching of the target foothold can be achieved. Systematicity in the suspension of ongoing syntax to prioritize embodied, perceptive actions is also shown by Mondada (2021) with reference to cheese-tasting training sessions where trainers suspend the delivery of descriptors related to the qualities of the cheese being examined to allow time to visual inspection and tasting before they resume the description.…”

Leg movements affect speech intensity

“…When speech and limb movements co-occur, breathing becomes a shared resource shaped by the constraints of the two systems. Hence, breathing is increasingly studied as a central aspect of the relationship between speech and a range of limb movements such as manual gestures accompanying speech in communication ( 3 , 6 – 8 ); arm movements for object manipulation ( 9 , 10 ); or leg movements for locomotion ( 11 , 12 ).…”

Transferring from wheelchair to bed: (Re)subjectifying and partner-positioning a person with late-stage dementia in the care task

“…Sofia frames the action of removing the footrest to involve an extensive effort by her which is displayed in her "o::hej" accompanied by heavy exhaling as a demonstration of physical strain (c.f. Hofstetter et al, 2021). Sofia's actions foreground the material and physical properties of Emma's body (specifically her feet), by framing it as being somewhat heavy for her to move.…”