Journal ArticleDOI
Indirect Speech Acts
Nicholas Asher,Alex Lascarides +1 more
TLDR
It is shown how a formal semantictheory of discourse interpretation can be used to define speech acts and to avoid murky issues concerning the metaphysics of action.Abstract:
In this paper, we address several puzzles concerning speech acts,particularly indirect speech acts. We show how a formal semantictheory of discourse interpretation can be used to define speech actsand to avoid murky issues concerning the metaphysics of action. Weprovide a formally precise definition of indirect speech acts, includingthe subclass of so-called conventionalized indirect speech acts. Thisanalysis draws heavily on parallels between phenomena at the speechact level and the lexical level. First, we argue that, just as co-predicationshows that some words can behave linguistically as if they're `simultaneously'of incompatible semantic types, certain speech acts behave this way too.Secondly, as Horn and Bayer (1984) and others have suggested, both thelexicon and speech acts are subject to a principle of blocking or ``preemptionby synonymy'': Conventionalized indirect speech acts can block their`paraphrases' from being interpreted as indirect speech acts, even ifthis interpretation is calculable from Gricean-style principles. Weprovide a formal model of this blocking, and compare it withexisting accounts of lexical blocking.read more
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Book ChapterDOI
Integrative pragmatics and (im)politeness theory
Michael Haugh,Jonathan Culpeper +1 more
TL;DR: The authors discuss the role that pragmatics has played in the development of (im)politeness theory, and the recent move towards a middle ground that integrates classic and discursive approaches to (im)-politeness.
Journal ArticleDOI
Pupillometry reveals increased pupil size during indirect request comprehension
TL;DR: Pupil diameter is investigated to suggest that the increase in pupil size reflects additional processing demands for the comprehension of indirect requests as compared to statements, and demonstrates the usefulness of pupillometry as a tool for experimental research in pragmatics.
Journal ArticleDOI
Intention(ality) and the Conceptualization of Communication in Pragmatics
TL;DR: This paper introduced the notion of dyadic cognizing as a way of reconceptualizing the inferential work that underlies communication and suggested that such inferential works is inherently 'intentional' in the sense proposed by Brentano, but need not necessarily be 'directed' towards the 'intentions' of speakers.
Journal ArticleDOI
On the Dark Side of Strategic Communication
TL;DR: In this article, a framework for analyzing the dark side of strategic communication from both a strategic perspective and a linguistic perspective is presented, and applied to four business scenarios involving corporate finance; three involve public pronouncements from executives about future stock offerings, while the fourth involves a private statement made by a CEO to an important client and reported to the authors in an interview.
Journal ArticleDOI
The effect of formality and relational tone on supervisor/subordinate negotiation episodes
Eric B. Meiners,Vernon D. Miller +1 more
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of formality and relational tone on three key dimensions: elaboration, directness, and mutual concessions, and found that more formal negotiations involve greater elaboration and concessions, while a personalized relational tone was positively related to directness.
References
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Book
How to do things with words
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a series of lectures with the following topics: Lecture I * Lecture II* Lecture III * Lectures IV* Lectures V * LectURE VI * LectURES VI * LII * LIII * LIV * LVI * LIX
Book ChapterDOI
Logic and Conversation
TL;DR: For instance, Grice was interested in Quine's logical approach to language, although he differed from Quine over certain specific specific questions, such as the viability of the distinction between analytic and synthetic statements.
Book
Head-driven phrase structure grammar
Ivan A. Sag,Carl Jesse Pollard +1 more
TL;DR: This book presents the most complete exposition of the theory of head-driven phrase structure grammar, introduced in the authors' "Information-Based Syntax and Semantics," and demonstrates the applicability of the HPSG approach to a wide range of empirical problems.