Pragmatics and the explicit/implicit distinction
A conception of the semantics/pragmatics distinction as coextensive with a distinction between two types of cognitive process, decoding and inference, is defended. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate a different but apparently related distinction, that between what is explicitly communicated and what is implicitly communicated. Views surveyed include Grice's original saying/implicating distinction, certain subsequent adjustments to his conception, and the explicature/implicature distinction developed within the cognitively-based Relevance Theory approach to utterance interpretation, the approach adopted in the thesis. A strong essentialist view of linguistic underdeterminacy is taken; that is, the encoded content of an utterance always and necessarily underdetermines the proposition it is used to express. It is argued that recovery of the proposition explicitly communicated by a speaker requires not only disambiguation, reference assignment and essential completion processes, but also adjustments (strengthenings and loosenings) of concepts encoded in the utterance and decisions concerning whether the speaker intends her utterance to be taken descriptively (as representing the external world) or
Carston, Robyn Anne
Linguistics
Pragmatics and the explicit/implicit distinction. A conception of the semantics/pragmatics distinction as coextensive with a distinction between two types of cognitive process, decoding and inference, is defended. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate a different but apparently related distinction, that between what is explicitly communicated and what is implicitly communicated. Views surveyed include Grice's original saying/implicating distinction, certain subsequent adjustments to his conception, and the explicature/implicature distinction developed within the cognitively-based Relevance Theory approach to utterance interpretation, the approach adopted in the thesis. A strong essentialist view of linguistic underdeterminacy is taken; that is, the encoded content of an utterance always and necessarily underdetermines the proposition it is used to express. It is argued that recovery of the proposition explicitly communicated by a speaker requires not only disambiguation, reference assignment and essential completion processes, but also adjustments (strengthenings and loosenings) of concepts encoded in the utterance and decisions concerning whether the speaker intends her utterance to be taken descriptively (as representing the external world) or
pragmatics explicit_implicit distinction conception semantics pragmatics distinction coextensive distinction_two type cognitive_process decode inference defend main_purpose investigate different apparently related distinction explicitly communicate implicitly communicate views survey include grice original saying distinction certain subsequent adjustment conception implicature distinction develop within cognitively based relevance_theory utterance_interpretation adopt thesis strong essentialist view linguistic underdeterminacy take encode content utterance always necessarily proposition use_express argued recovery proposition explicitly communicate speaker require disambiguation reference assignment essential completion process also adjustment concept encode utterance decision concern whether speaker intend utterance take descriptively represent external_world