Nothing Is Said: Utterance and Interpretation

The distinction between what is said and what is implied is a central issue in language and communication theory. Nothing is Said argues that the notion of saying should not be imported into our models of basic linguistic communication, as it is a reflective one resulting from a higher-order metacommunicative competence that is relatively late-developing. This competence allows us to reflect simultaneously on the form and content of an utterance, characterizing it as an act of saying. The study supports this claim with empirical data from experimental psychology.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 27 September 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

In the realm of language, we often differentiate between what someone explicitly states and the underlying implications or nuances they convey. This distinction has permeated the theoretical understanding of language and communication, sparking extensive debates regarding the proper definition of what is said. Countering the underlying assumption of these discussions, Nothing is Said contends that it is erroneous to incorporate the notion of saying into our models of fundamental linguistic communication. Instead, the concept of saying emerges as a reflective notion, originating from a higher-order metacommunicative competence that develops relatively late in our linguistic development. This competence enables us to simultaneously contemplate the form and content of an utterance, thereby characterizing it as an act of saying.

The study presented herein demonstrates how this notion of saying can be accounted for without necessitating the identification of what is said as a fundamental step in basic utterance interpretation. The notion that linguistic interpretation relies on ascertaining what is said is deeply entrenched in our understanding. Mark Jary delves into the consequences for semantic and pragmatic theory by questioning the assumption of identifying what is said. He explores various topics such as lexical pragmatics, scalar implicature, assertion, lying, and others that have garnered significant attention in recent literature. The assertions made in this study are supported by empirical data derived from experimental psychology.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192863188