Interlocutor (linguistics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Linguistic alignment is the idea that interlocutors involved in a conversation will re-use their partners' phrases for ease of understanding. This is a form of unconscious mimicry in order to facilitate communication.[6] In task-oriented conversations, lexical alignment increased performance most when the interlocutors' shared vocabulary most directly related to the task at hand.[7]
In situations where a participant is primed by a recording, rather than a human interlocutor, they are less likely to exhibit linguistic alignment. This suggests that linguistic choices are influenced by the interlocutor's communicative intent.[8]
