Representation of retrospective memory and communicative context

Abstract: The present paper examines language forms used by speakers to provide a report about past experiences reconstructed from memory. While previous research focused mainly on narratives as verbal representations of memories, the current study presents a novel view based on the communicative approach. The author argues that results obtained in the course of experimental studies do not reflect the reality as participants report their memories in the manner and under the circumstances prescribed by the experiment framework. The present paper examines linguistic forms representing individuals’ memories on the basis of empirical data illustrating natural communication in various situations. Having accepted the concept of language as a material container of cognitive content and the thesis about the patterned nature of communication, the author proposes hypotheses about a standard set of linguistic forms employed by speakers for recall reports and a certain correlation between the cognitive-communicative context and linguistic features of the mnemonic utterance.