Intention(ality) and the Conceptualization of Communication in Pragmatics

Bibliographic Data

ID12059191
AuthorsMichael Haugh (0000-0003-4870-0850, Griffith University, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume29
Issue1
Pages91-113
Publication date2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0726-8602 • E-ISSN: 1469-2996
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07268600802516301
OpenAlexW2120202559
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited80

It is commonly assumed in (linguistic) pragmatics that communication involves speakers expressing their intentions through verbal and nonverbal means, and recipients recognizing or attributing those attentions to speakers. Upon closer examination of various pragmatic phenomena in discourse, however, it appears the situation is actually much more complex than the standard conceptualization of communication in pragmatics allows. In particular, it is suggested in this paper that the focus on expressing and recognizing/attributing (speaker) intentions underestimates the dynamic nature and complexity of cognition that underpins interaction. The notion of ‘dyadic cognizing’ is thus introduced as a way of reconceptualizing the inferential work that underlies communication. It is suggested that such inferential work is ‘directed’ and thus is inherently ‘intentional’ in the sense proposed by Brentano, but need not necessarily be ‘directed’ towards the ‘intentions’ of speakers

Conceptualization · Epistemology · Linguistics · Pragmatics · Sociology · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Linguistics and Discourse Analysis · Philosophy · Psychology

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