Book chapter
Mandy Simons
Gerhard Preyer, chapter 14, Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics, 2018
Gerhard Preyer, chapter 14, Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics, 2018
View PDF
Cite
Cite
APA
Click to copy
Simons, M. (2018). Convention, Intention and the Conversational Record. In G. Preyer (Ed.) (Vol. Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198791492.003.0015
Chicago/Turabian
Click to copy
Simons, Mandy. “Convention, Intention and the Conversational Record.” In , edited by Gerhard Preyer. Vol. Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics, 2018.
MLA
Click to copy
Simons, Mandy. Convention, Intention and the Conversational Record. Edited by Gerhard Preyer, vol. Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics, 2018, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198791492.003.0015.
BibTeX Click to copy
@inbook{mandy2018a,
title = {Convention, Intention and the Conversational Record},
year = {2018},
chapter = {14},
volume = {Beyond Semantics and Pragmatics},
doi = {10.1093/oso/9780198791492.003.0015},
author = {Simons, Mandy},
editor = {Preyer, Gerhard}
}
Abstract
Lepore and Stone 2015 advocate a view which turns the Gricean picture of meaning on its head: they argue that the most basic type of meaning intention is one which presupposes the notion of conventional meaning. In this essay, I argue that evidence from language acquisition supports the Gricean view, according to which communicative intentions are analytically more basic than linguistic convention. I point out further, though, that Grice’s view recognizes the role of conventionality in meaning, a point neglected in Lepore and Stone’s critique. Lepore and Stone extend their convention-driven view by advocating a model on which the Conversational Record reflects only conventionally licensed conversational updates. I present evidence from conversation that shows that such a view of the record cannot account for certain types of standard conversational events.
Lepore and Stone 2015 advocate a view which turns the Gricean picture of meaning on its head: they argue that the most basic type of meaning intention is one which presupposes the notion of conventional meaning. In this essay, I argue that evidence from language acquisition supports the Gricean view, according to which communicative intentions are analytically more basic than linguistic convention. I point out further, though, that Grice’s view recognizes the role of conventionality in meaning, a point neglected in Lepore and Stone’s critique. Lepore and Stone extend their convention-driven view by advocating a model on which the Conversational Record reflects only conventionally licensed conversational updates. I present evidence from conversation that shows that such a view of the record cannot account for certain types of standard conversational events.