要旨
Languages have complex and varied means for representing points of
view, including constructions that can express multiple perspectives on the
same event. This paper presents data on two evidential constructions in the
language Duna (Papua New Guinea) that imply features of both speaker and
addressee knowledge simultaneously. I discuss how talking about an addressee’s
knowledge can occur in contexts of both coercion and co-operation, and,
while apparently empathetic, can provide a covert way to both manipulate the
addressee’s attention and express speaker stance. I speculate that ultimately,
however, these multiple perspective constructions may play a pro-social role in
building or repairing the interlocutors’ common ground.
