Les présupposés comme procédé textuel du non-dit dans l’œuvre dramatique de Yasmina Reza

Abstract

Yasmina Reza’s literary style offers two options for conveying the unspoken: the first is through the use of typographical devices such as silences and pauses to indicate a lack of verbal expression, and the second is through the use of empty spaces within words themselves that remain without a full meaning. It is crucial to note that Reza’s theatrical works are not intended to have a singular, explicit meaning throughout the reading, but rather comprise layered explorations of both the expressed and unexpressed. It is the reader’s task to read the text carefully, to identify and reveal the various forms of the unsaid, including presuppositions, implicatures, underlying messages, references, suggestions, and more. The present article, therefore, seeks to examine presuppositions in the verbal interactions among characters in Yasmina Reza’s plays. Drawing upon both pragmatics and conversation analysis, we aim to uncover the extent of the unsaid within Yasmina Reza’s plays, while highlighting the significance of presuppositions as rich, informative pragmatic tools.