Conventionalized speech act formulae

From corpus findings to formalization

Ann Copestake | Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge

Marina Terkourafi | University of Illinois

This paper concerns the representation of formulae which conventionally encode particular illocutionary forces. Our aim is to provide an account of illocutionary force which allows the conventionalized formulae to be regarded as interpretive shortcuts. We propose an HPSG account in which the conventional illocutionary force of utterances is represented separately from their compositional semantics. The conventional illocutionary force does not replace part of the compositional interpretation (as it might on an idiom theory of speech acts) but instead adds to it. In this way, compositional semantics and conventional illocutionary force both remain available to the interpretation, and can, for instance, license dual responses.

Published online: 14 April 2010
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.194.07cop

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