RE: RT list: Did Peirce offer an inferential theory of communication (prior to RT)?

Hi Ernst,

I think that's a really interesting question. I can't remember any
detailed discussions of this, but I think I have read some suggestions
about it. I'd be a bit nervous about suggesting a root cause for a
particular communicative strategy, but I think there might be an element
of what you suggest. I'd suggest modifying it a bit, though, to 'look
how clever WE are' since it depends on the audience and communicator
being 'clever' enough to get it. It also reminds me of discussions of
irony where it's often pointed out that ironical utterances create a
sense of solidarity between communicator and addressee.

Best wishes,

Billy

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-relevance@linguistics.ucl.ac.uk
[mailto:owner-relevance@linguistics.ucl.ac.uk] On Behalf Of
ernst-august_gutt@sil.org
Sent: 10 December 2009 08:32
To: relevance@linguistics.ucl.ac.uk
Subject: Re: RT list: Did Peirce offer an inferential theory of
communication (prior to RT)?

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for all helpful responses to this question. I have really
appreciated them.

Incidentally, another question I have been wondering about for some time
is
whether in the Gricean framework there are criteria for determining the
root
causes of violations of the maxims of quantity and relation (whether
they
are, for example, due to communicators' attempts at self-aggrandizement:
"See how clever I am!").

Best wishes,

Ernst-August Gutt
Received on Fri Dec 11 12:23:19 2009