Semantics and Pragmatics of Pure Indexical Reference

IF 0.2 Q4 LINGUISTICS

Journal of Cognitive Science Pub Date : 2019-03-31 DOI:10.17791/JCS.2019.20.1.53

Y. Mizuta

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Kaplan (1989) proposed a semantic theory of pure indexicals, arguing that “I,” “here,” and “now’’ refer respectively to the agent, the place, and the time of the context of utterance. He focused on real-time, face-to-face communication, assuming “proper utterances,” that is, those utterances in which the agent is located in the place and time of the context of utterance. Kaplan claimed that in proper utterances the proposition “I am here now” is logically true, that is, true in every context of utterance. In the past few decades, the semantics of pure indexicals has been discussed beyond the scope of the work of Kaplan. Recorded and written messages are now a central concern of the literature and the logical truth of “I am here now” needs to be reexamined. In these messages, pure indexical references are to be communicated through the discrepancy between the spatial and temporal locations that the speaker and the hearer are in. In the literature, factors such as the speaker’s intention and social conventions have been mentioned as playing a key role in the identification of pure indexical references. However, the relation between these factors has been left unclear. Also, it remains to be clarified whether or not Kaplan’s semantic theory needs to be modified in order to accommodate the cases of recorded and written messages. This paper investigates the identification of pure indexical references from both semantic and pragmatic perspectives. It presents a theory which involves a minimum extension of Kaplan’s theory, introducing the notion of the “salient context of utterance.” Specifically, this paper argues the following: 1) it proposes a semantic theory which claims that “I,” “here,” and “now’’ refer respectively to the agent, the place, and the time of the pragmatically determined salient context of utterance, 2) it argues that “I am here now” is true in every salient context of utterance and provides a solution to the so-called “answering machine paradox,” Journal of Cognitive Science 20-1:53-77, 2019 ©2019 Institute for Cognitive Science, Seoul National University

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纯索引参考的语义与语用

Kaplan(1989)提出了纯指示物的语义理论，认为“我”、“这里”和“现在”分别指的是话语语境中的主体、地点和时间。他专注于实时、面对面的交流，假设“适当的话语”，也就是说，那些话语中，代理位于话语上下文的地点和时间。卡普兰声称，在恰当的话语中，命题“我现在在这里”在逻辑上是正确的，也就是说，在话语的每一个语境中都是正确的。在过去的几十年里，纯索引的语义讨论已经超出了卡普兰的工作范围。记录和书面信息现在是文学关注的中心，“我现在在这里”的逻辑真理需要重新审视。在这些消息中，纯粹的索引引用将通过说者和听者所处的空间和时间位置之间的差异来传达。在文献中，诸如说话人的意图和社会习俗等因素被认为在纯索引参考文献的识别中起着关键作用。然而，这些因素之间的关系一直不清楚。此外，卡普兰的语义理论是否需要修改以适应记录和书面信息的情况仍有待澄清。本文从语义和语用两个角度探讨了纯索引引用的识别问题。它提出了一个理论，涉及到卡普兰的理论的最小扩展，引入了“话语的突出语境”的概念。具体而言，本文认为:1)提出了一种语义理论，声称“我”、“这里”和“现在”分别指语用决定的话语突出语境的主体、地点和时间;2)认为“我现在在这里”在话语的每个突出语境中都是正确的，并为所谓的“应答机悖论”提供了解决方案，《认知科学杂志》20-1:53-77,2019©2019首尔国立大学认知科学研究所

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来源期刊

Journal of Cognitive Science LINGUISTICS-

CiteScore

0.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal of Cognitive Science is an official journal of the International Association for Cognitive Science (IACS, http://ia-cs.org) and published quarterly by the Institute for Cognitive Science at Seoul National University, located in Seoul, Korea. The Association currently consists of member societies of different countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and European Union. However, paper submission by anyone in the whole world is welcome at any time. Its main concern is to showcase research articles of highest quality and significance within the disciplines of cognitive science, including, but not limited to, philosophy, psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, aesthetics, anthropology, and education, insofar as it is deemed to be of interest to those who pursue the study of mind. In particular, we would like to encourage submissions that cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Journal of Cognitive Science (JCS) is published quarterly on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, 31 December (founded in 2000) as the official journal of International Association for Cognitive Science (IACS) by the Institute for Cognitive Science at Seoul National University. It is a SCOPUS, ESCI, EBSCO, KCI journal. It aims to publish research articles of the highest quality and significance within the disciplines that form cognitive science, including philosophy, psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, anthropology, and education for Interdisciplinary Journal. Submissions that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries in either themes or methods are especially encouraged. AI-associated Cognitive Science will be newly reinforced and papers in this area are encouraged to be submitted.