Using stories to bridge the chasm between perspectives: How metaphors and genres are used to share meaning

Natural language is complex in structure, and contains considerable detail. All instances of language serve the purpose of making sense of experience and the intent of actors. Language conveys an actor’s personal reference to goals, responsibility, and values. In this paper we consider how actors from distinct perspectives communicate when they have share common goals and intent. We have observed the planning of a community and cultural event where actors are variously responsible for management and for artistic merit. Specifically, we consider actors’ use of language as a tool to span perspectives, and how functional discourse analysis tools and techniques enable a deeper interpretive understanding of the layers of discourse when derived from a rich context. We will also illustrate patterns we have found in the use of discourse and actors’ ability to bridge the reasoning and logical gap between distinct perspectives through references to metaphors and genres.