AN ANALYSIS OF FORCE DYNAMICS IN DISCOURSE. Mary Elaine Meagher

(National University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico)

This research is part of an interdisciplinary project on social networks at the National University of Mexico (HS-UNAM). It examines a corpus of discourse in Spanish on the generation and transmission of knowledge between universities and industry from a cognitive perspective. This paper describes the interplay of three parameters of force dynamics enumerated by L. Talmy [9. P. 54], namely the intrinsic force tendency, the relative strength of the entities in interaction and the resultant of force dynamic interaction at three different levels: lexical, syntactic and pragmatic. The latter is displayed through the construction of mental spaces [4; 5]. This double analysis seems to be a powerful instrument for analyzing the construction of meaning in social interaction. It permits highlighting focal interactions at multiple levels while leading to the apprehension of important details that might otherwise be overlooked, thereby providing a systematic method for justifying results. This paper examines how a scientist at the IF-UNAM construes the role of academic institutions in the process of

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