2007 ThePragmaticsOfQandAs
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- (Potts, 2007) ⇒ Christopher Potts. (2007). “The Pragmatics of Questions and Answers.” In: Lecture notes.
Subject Headings: Pragmatics Theory.
Notes
Cited By
Quotes
- H. Paul Grice (1960s) proposed the construction of compact, general specifications for (rational) social interactions.
- Maxims
- Quality Above all, be truthful!
- Relevance And be relevant!
- Quantity Within those bounds, be as informative as you can!
- Manner And do it as clearly and concisely as possible!
- Probability of Maxims
- Beaver (2001:29) calls formalization in this area “notoriously problematic”.
- Bach (1999) is more decisive, offering various reasons why “it seems futile for linguists to seek a formal pragmatics”.
- Devitt and Sterelny (1987:§7.4) strike a similar chord.
- Recent innovation: A shift in emphasis from truth-conditions to probabilities.
- Example: Where are you from?
- Massachusetts.
- The U.S.
- Planet earth.
- Connecticut. (My birthplace.)
- UMass Amherst. (My university.)
- Belgium. (My ancestral home.)
- Looking ahead
- 1 Continue the project begun by Malamud (2006a,b) of extending van Rooy’s (2004) approach to questions into new areas:
- Situations (what counts as minimal?)
- Reference (which mode is best?)
- Comparatives (which contextual standard?)
- 2 Further articulate the role of decisions by moving to a game-theoretic setting.
- 3 Get a better grip on how these pragmatic factors can influence embedded readings.
- 1 Continue the project begun by Malamud (2006a,b) of extending van Rooy’s (2004) approach to questions into new areas:
References
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