Publications
Publication details [#12607]
Publication type
Book – monograph
Publication language
Italian
Abstract
This book deals with pragmatics, i.e. the study of the use of language and in this case specifically of cognitive pragmatics. In contemporary cognitive science there’s the conception that communicating means reading the mind of our interlocutor. As obvious, we do not have direct access to the mental states of our partners, but we can recognize their communicative intentions due to certain factors: e.g., their words and actions, but also the topic of conversation, the things we know about them and about the world. Hence, sentences are not just parts of a code to crack, but they are evidence of the message intended by the speaker. Communicating is thus a risky activity, which we conduct in close cooperation with our partners, and that despite the appearance of ease, requires complicity and extraordinary coordination. This book presents a wide-angle perspective which gives space to a reflection also on the complexity of decoding figurative expressions from a pragmatic point of view.