Search results for " Pragmatics"

Instead of an Editorial: Mission Statements by Representatives of Both Fields

2012

The following mission statements by linguists and literary scholars working in different institutional and cultural contexts and at different stages of their careers are intended to map out the terrain covered by this journal. They tell similar stories about how these scholars came to cross the disciplinary boundary that too often divides their two fields, and they reveal a number of shared interests and emphases. But they also highlight the diversity of methodologies to which this journal is open – from metrics and stylistics to the cognitive sciences and Systemic Functional Grammar. The hopes and expectations voiced by the authors are partly pragmatic, expressing the wish that the journal…

THE USE AND THE SHIFT OF METAPHORS IN ADR

2014

This study on the use and shift of metaphors in alternative dispute resolutions aims to consider the clever use of conceptual metaphors among the linguistic competences that are desirable for mediators working in Europe under the provisions of the Directive 2008/52. The interest in developing the role of metaphors in influencing the resolution of disputes has called for a multidisciplinary approach that will focus on the studies carried out by experts in Cognitive Linguistics, Legal Pragmatics, Law and Mediation matters. Part I presents the claims made by Cognitive Linguistics on what a conceptual metaphor is and how it works in both every day and specialized language; Part II deals with th…

Karl-Otto Apel’s discourse ethics in dialogue with Charles Taylor’s hermeneutical ethics

2019

El objetivo de este trabajo es poner de manifiesto la relevancia del legado filosófico de Karl-Otto Apel a la luz del diálogo con la ética de Charles Taylor. Nos detenemos en los últimos libros publicados de Charles Taylor y ensayamos una interpretación crítica de sus tesis a partir de la pragmática trascendental de Apel. Hundiendo sus raíces en la matriz hermenéutica y crítica, la ética del discurso de Karl-Otto Apel sigue ofreciendo una dialéctica fecunda entre realidad e idealidad que resulta insoslayable para afrontar con garantías el futuro de la humanidad. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relevance of the philosophical legacy of Karl-Otto Apel in light of the dialogue with th…

¿Cómo se replica afirmativamente en español e italiano?

2017

This article is part of a broader project aiming to describe the pragmatic strategies in Spanish and Italian task-oriented dialogues. Specifically it intends to highlight the different communicative dynamics depending on the use of affirmative responses carried out with the Spanish particles hum, sí, vale, ya, bien, exacto, etc. and Italian markers uhm, sì, okay, perfetto, etc. The method of analysis used has allowed to delineate two ‘stylistic’ tendencies that differ on the characterisation of the speaker’s stance about the interaction: Italian speakers present themselves as guides leading the achievement of the task, Spanish speakers moreover present themselves like autonomous individuals…

Pragmatics of fraus: Encoding and Decoding of Deceit in Seneca’s Troades and Thyestes

2020

The paper aims at exploring the most relevant strategies of encoding and decoding of fraus and simulatio in Seneca’s tragedies, especially in Troades and Thyestes, from both a pragmatic and a dramaturgical point of view. In this perspective, it also provides a working definition of fraus, having regard to the Roman cultural categories involved in the communication dynamics portrayed by Seneca.

Downgraders and upgraders in chinese and spanish request: a research proposal

2017

Todavía son escasas las investigaciones de pragmática intercultural que abordan explícitamente las diferencias, o similitudes, entre los usos pragmáticos y comunicativos del chino y del español. Este hecho motiva la realización de interpretaciones de forma indirecta a través de los estudios realizados en relación a otras lenguas, en los que no siempre las variables consideradas son idénticas. La investigación en la que se incluye este trabajo trata de paliar dicha carencia. No obstante, en este marco reducido se tratará específicamente el siguiente aspecto: el uso de atenuadores e intensificadores por parte de chinos y españoles en las peticiones. Para ello adoptamos la metodología que inic…

Belief reports and pragmatic intrusion: the case of null appositives

2008

The Attributive/Referential Distinction, Pragmatics, Modularity of Mind and Modularization

2011

In this paper I deal with the attributive/referential distinction. After reviewing the literature on the issue, I adopt Jaszczolt's view based on default semantics. I relate her view to Sperber and Wilson's Principle of Relevance. I argue in favour of the modularity hypothesis in connection with pragmatic interpretations. I also discuss the issue of modularization a la Karmiloff-Smith in connection with default inferences and, in particular, referential readings of NPs. I reply to some considerations by Cummings and use data from referential/attributive uses of NPs to show that the modularity hypothesis is defensible.

Pragmatic evidence, context, and story design: an essay on recent developments in experimental pragmatics

2012

What is pragmatic evidence? In this contribution, I argue that pragmatic evidence basically is connected with pragmatic intuitions related to a context. The context usually is either given as a story, or is left to the imagination of a judge (a linguist, a reader, a test participant). It is shown that stories not only play an important role in pragmatic argumentation and analysis, but also with regard to story design in experimental settings.

Between historical semantics and pragmatics

2006

This paper discusses the methodology of conceptual history, a branch of the study of the history of political thought which focuses on the changing meanings of political concepts over the course of time. It is suggested here that methodological disputes among historians of political thought frequently arise out of differing theories of language and meaning and that historians should be more open-minded to the idea of combining various research strategies in their work. Conceptual history, for instance, can be viewed as the combination of historical versions of semantics and pragmatics. While the study of the macro-level semantic changes in the language of politics can reveal interesting lon…