18 April 2008

Weird dreams, and non-inclusive we

I never remember dreams, but I had a particularly strange one last night that did somehow stick. I was at some conference in a venue I didn't recognize, and there was some talk going on. I'm not entirely sure where I was at that point. After some introductory slides, the speaker handed over to me to discuss the results. Obviously I hadn't prepared anything, so I got two minutes to read through the handout I was then to talk the audience through. Then I started:

So what we did – and with that I mean non-inclusive we – ...
realized something, and interrupted my flow of speech:
That's a strange kind of non-inclusive we, you may want to note that down, Geoff.
'Cause obviously Geoff Pullum was there. He wrote it down.

Then I woke up. I have no idea what the presentation was about, and what the results were. A pity, for I'm sure it was very interesting.

Inclusive and non-inclusive we
Some languages make a difference between two kinds of we. There is the inclusive we: me, possibly some other people, and you. We're going to the cinema, and we're going to have fun. And then there's non-inclusive (or exclusive) we: me, some other people, but not you. We're going to the cinema, and you can't come. Ha-hah.

But the non-inclusive we from my dream presentation is different. This we means some other people, maybe you (I'll get to that), but definitely not me. We analyzed some data, but I have nothing to do with it. Really it conveys a lot of the meaning that normally you would use they for; the only difference I suppose is that this time, the I is taking some of the responsibility, at least at an affectionate level, for what they did.

I suppose it's got to do with the tension between individual identity and group (corporate?) identity: I didn't personally analyze any data, I don't even have any idea what the data is about, but the group that I'm speaking for, did, and does; and I suppose in that case you do want to use a first-person pronoun.

With regard to the inclusion of you in this we, I don't think it's the same thing as nurses' talk (And how are we doing today, Mr Smith? Well, I don't know how you're feeling, but I'm feeling crap.) although there are probably some links between nurses' talk and this corporate we. How about
What we're going to do next is analyze some data.
Here it's quite possible that there's a you and some other people who will analyze some data, but that I am not getting anywhere near GoldVarb.

I wonder whether Geoff Pullum has actually written this down, and if there's anything about this type of we in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

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