Variations in Viewpoint Presentation: The ‘Pear Story’ as Told by People with a Schizophrenia Diagnosis

Linde Van Schuppen,José Sanders,Kobie Van Krieken

doi:10.16995/olh.487

Abstract

In this study we explore linguistic viewpoint representation by language users diagnosed with schizophrenia, a heterogenic group theorized to diverge in the way they present, or choose, perspective in both language and cognition. We collected and analyzed retellings of the “Pear Story”, addressing the building of, and navigation between, separate but interconnected mental domains by focusing on the use of a broad range of linguistic and narrative phenomena: interactive framing, evaluations, story plot construction, causal connections, reference and speech and thought representations. The results point towards great complexities and varieties in viewpoint reports and navigation between subjects, thereby shedding light on perspective-taking abilities and possible difficulties in this group of people. These findings advance research into the diverse and complex ways in which viewpoint can be represented and navigated in stories, while gaining a better understanding of how cognitive and experiential viewpoint disturbances might be expressed in non-neurotypical populations.Publisher’s Note: This article was originally published with an incorrect peer review statement, which said that this article was an internally reviewed editorial. This has now been amended to reflect the fact that this is a piece of research that underwent double blind peer review by two external reviewers.

Highlights

The linguistic expression of perspective is highly diverse and manifests at the morphological, lexical, syntactic and discourse level
We explored the language of perspective in a large range of narrative and linguistic phenomena in story retellings by people diagnosed with schizophrenia
We have scrutinized the role of perspective throughout different linguistic and narrative layers of analysis with the help of a conceptual viewpoint model that allows for the analysis of referential structure through a distinction between a Speech Act Domain and a Narrative Domain

Summary

Introduction

The linguistic expression of perspective is highly diverse and manifests at the morphological, lexical, syntactic and discourse level. The way in which speakers assume an interactive frame (Tannen, 1993), ‘dress up’ their story and illustrate their point through the use of ‘evaluations’ varies between speakers that take on an external position (stepping outside the narrative events to lexicalize the point) or an internal position (making clear from the presentation of narrative content what the speaker thinks about it, and what the hearer is to think) (Tannen, 1982: 4). In this literature, internal evaluation is considered a typical oral strategy, which makes for compelling storytelling. Several studies analyzing the linguistic characteristics of conversational stories have found that audience involvement is created by personalization and internalization devices such as the use of first-person pronouns, direct quotation and reports of the speaker’s mental processes

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