In this paper, we explore the interaction between lexical semantics and pragmatics. We argue that linguistic processing is informationally encapsulated and utilises relatively simple ‘taxonomic’ lexical semantic knowledge. On this basis, defeasible lexical generalisations deliver defeasible parts of logical form. In contrast, pragmatic inference is openended and involves arbitrary real-world kn...

We propose designing a discourse parser specifically for the evaluative text genre. We aim to see whether focusing on a certain genre and relations specific to that genre offers performance gain beyond more generic discourse parsers. In this extended abstract we describe the approach we intend to take, and how this differs from what has been done previously. The problem of discourse parsing It ...

This essay explores the connection between representation and explanation in the sciences. I suggest that scientific representation schemes be viewed as pragmatic tools for acquiring the sort of articulated awareness that is the hallmark of nontrivial knowledge. Crystal field theory in chemistry illustrates this perspective. Certain representations achieve the status of being paradigmatically e...

Th is paper provides a unifi ed semantic and discourse pragmatic analysis of the German particle nämlich , traditionally described as having a specifi cational and an explanative reading. Our claim is that nämlich is a discourse marker which signals that the expression it is attached to is a short (elliptic) answer to a salient implicit question about the previous utterance. We show how both th...

This paper, which is based on a multimodal corpus of conversational French, aims at describing some prosodic and gestural characteristics of the three discourse markers ‘donc’ (‘so’), ‘alors’ (‘so’ or ‘then’) and ‘en fait’ (‘in fact’). The pragmatic functions of ‘donc’ and ‘alors’ have been deeply analyzed in a few studies (Mosegaard-Hansen [9], Vlemings [12] and Zénone [13, 14]) but none of th...

The present study tries to investigate linguistically optimism in English and Arabic religious discourses. language of discourse is rich be examined by the researchers. Optimism carried out different pragmatic aspects. aims at identifying various strategies which conveyed through eclectic model adopted analyse data. It consists Searle’s (1969) speech act theory, Grice’s (1975) conversational im...