Narrative Activity as Perspective Taking: The Role of Emotionals, Negations, and Voice in the Construction of the Story Realm

Abstract

This article develops the argument that narratives are organized along two orienting axes, one of horizontally sequencing the events, the other of vertically and hierarchically relating events to each other. The use of particular linguistic devices (references to emotions, references to negative states, and active/passive alternations) is explained in terms of their particular indexing functions regarding the relationship between these two axes. The suggested type of discourse analysis elaborates on the form-function relationship relevant to reconstruct the textual and interpersonal context bearing on all interpretation or listening processes—especially the therapeutic setting.