Towards a Diagnostic Toolkit for the Language of Agency. (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Konopasky, Abigail W.; Sheridan, Kimberly M.
• Is Part Of: Mind, culture, and activity. Volume 23:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 108
• Page End: 123
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: Cognition -- Periodicals; Cognition and culture -- Periodicals; 150
• DOI: 10.1080/10749039.2015.1128952
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1074-9039

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Agency—broadly, the capacity to produce effects—is a critical aspect of human activity, yet its multifaceted character makes analysis difficult. Drawing from functional linguistics, we propose a linguistic toolkit for analyzing the degree to which and manner in which speakers represent themselves as acting intentionally and autonomously. After a brief review of relevant agency literature, we propose three sets of grammatical tools, demonstrating their efficacy with a brief case study of 4 adult secondary learners' educational narratives. We find that our toolkit offers insight both across contexts within an individual and across individuals in a single context.