Second call for papers:
Utterance Interpretation and Cognitive Models: how realistic are our
semantic and pragmatic theories?
Date: 23 June 2006 24 June 2006
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Contact Persons: Mikhail Kissine, Philippe De Brabanter
Email addresses: mkissine@ulb.ac.be, phdebrab@yahoo.co.uk
Linguistic Field(s): Semantics; Pragmatics, Philosophy of Language;
Cognitive Science
Call Deadline: 15 April 2006
Meeting Description:
Among the central issues in the philosophy of language, the determination of
the content conveyed by sentences on the occasion of their utterance is
certainly one that is of major importance to linguists and cognitive
scientists. Over the years, a modicum of agreement has emerged as to what
aspects of utterance meaning pertain to the most pragmatic layers of
interpretation. The focus of the debate has now moved to issues like the
literal, truth-conditional or propositional content of utterances: is it
entirely a matter for semantics to deal with, or does pragmatics affect that
content (and, if so, to what extent)? Around these issues, several major
positions have emerged, ranging from so-called Œradical contextualism¹
(pragmatics massively impacts on truth-conditional content) to equally
radical Œsemantic minimalism¹ (there is no such pragmatic impact), through
Œmoderate contextualism¹ and Œtruth relativism¹.
While the debate is still raging, we have thought it useful take a step back
and look at how the various theories fit, or can be made to fit, into
general models of cognition. We have gone on the assumption that
compatibility with a plausible cognitive framework is a legitimate goal for
linguistic inquiry. In other words, we endorse the view that theories of
language (and language use) should be prepared to commit themselves to any
conception of the human mind with which they are compatible.
We hope that the Brussels workshop will offer an opportunity for language
scholars to present their views on the mechanisms underpinning the
interpretation of (certain aspects of) utterances. Our expectation is that
putting these issues in the light of broader psychological assumptions
should clarify the debate about the semantics/pragmatics distinction and
provide a fresh perspective for the evaluation of the different schools of
thought that attempt to answer the tough question: how much of the meaning
of expressions must be accounted for by semantics, and how much by
pragmatics?
The following keynote speakers have confirmed their participation:
Herman Cappelen (University of Oslo)
Marc Dominicy (Université Libre De Bruxelles)
François Recanati (Institut Jean Nicod, CNRS Paris)
Deirdre Wilson (University College London)
Abstract submissions:
We welcome submissions of abstracts for 25-minutes papers that address the
implications of theories of utterance-content for cognitive science, or,
conversely, the implications of theories of cognition for our understanding
of utterance-content. A non-exhaustive list of topics we expect to be
addressed includes: gradable adjectives, quantified expressions,
loosening/narrowing of the meaning of predicates, ad hoc concepts, the
varieties of quotation, reference and deference. We also welcome papers from
scholars who study language development, impaired communication, non-verbal
communication and non-human communication.
Important dates
Deadline for abstracts: 15th April
Notification of acceptance: 25th April
Workshop: 23-24th June
Abstract format:
- Only electronic submissions are accepted.
- The abstracts should be submitted to the email address:
mkissine@ulb.ac.be, with the following subject line: ³Utterance
Interpretation and Cognitive Models ''
- The abstract should be sent as an attachment to an email message, in
either MS Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf )
format
- The length of the submissions is a maximum of two A4 sides. The abstract
should clearly indicate the title of the talk, and may include references.
- The abstracts should be prepared for blind review, and include no
indication of the name(s) of the author(s)
- The body of the email message should contain the following information:
The author('s) name(s), affiliation, title of the paper and contact details
(postal and email address)
- A maximum of one submission as author, and one as co-author will be
considered
The First Brussels Workshop on Utterance Interpretation and Cognitive Models
by The University of Brussels Doctoral School: ³Theory of mind and
language².
We look forward to receiving your abstract(s) and seeing you at The First
Brussels Workshop on Utterance Interpretation and Cognitive Models.
The organizers
Philippe De Brabanter
UFR anglais Université de Paris4-Sorbonne
Institut Jean Nicod (Paris)
Mikhail Kissine
Laboratoire de linguistique textuelle et de pragmatique cognitive
Université Libre de Bruxelles
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