Re: RT list: On the conceptual-procedural distinction (more from Minh)

I think we can leave aside so in (3) '...so is the radiator' - it may be related to also.

For the 'inferential' or procedural so various semantics have been suggested. Groefsema (1992:220) proposed a semantics in terms of a logical selection frame:
[PROPOSITION]
logical consequence of a proposition in context

However, so need not introduce a proposition, and in (1996: 60) I suggested the following:

"The semantics of so consists of an instruction to the hearer to establish an inferential connection with some mutually manifest assumption (not necessarily derived from a preceding utterance) to which it may in turn draw the addressee's attention."

From a different perspective, Verhagen (2005:52) suggested:
"so instructs the addressee to interpret the clause it introduces as an inference licensed by the preceding discourse given relevant topoi (and possibly 'intermediate' inferences)."

These last two turn out on analysis to be fairly similar, and would both - I believe - be able to account for (1) '...so he must be in' and (2) '...so let's go in'.

Steve

references:
Groefsema, Marjolein (1992). Processing for Relevance: A pragmatically based account of how we process natural language. UCL PhD thesis

Nicolle, Steve (1996). Conceptual and Procedural Encoding in Relevance: a study with reference to English and Kiswahili. University of York DPhil thesis.

Verhagen, Arie (2005). Constructions of intersubjectivity: Discourse, syntax, and cognition. OUP.
Reviewed at http://www.sil.org:8090/silebr/2007/silebr2007-006

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Minh Dang
  To: relevance@linguistics.ucl.ac.uk
  Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 6:06 PM
  Subject: Re: RT list: On the conceptual-procedural distinction (more from Minh)

    
  Consider the linguistic form so in (1), (2), (3) below.

  (1) The light is on, so he must be in.
  (2) The light is on, so let's go in.
  (3) The light is on, so is the radiator.
Received on Mon, 3 Dec 2007 09:26:43 +0300