The Dark Matter of Pragmatics: Known Unknowns

Pragmatics occupies the niche between slow speech encoding and fast comprehension, and five tricks are reviewed to evade this bottleneck. The authors have made progress in these areas, but there are still unknowns to be explored.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 64 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Element delves into the enigmatic realm of Pragmatics, often referred to as the "Dark Matter" of the field. In their exploration, the authors identify a fundamental constraint in human communication: the inherent limitation on the speed at which speech can be encoded. Pragmatics, positioned between the slow process of speech encoding and the rapid comprehension, emerges as a crucial domain. By employing pragmatic strategies, individuals can circumvent this tight encoding bottleneck, conveying meanings that extend beyond their literal words.

In this insightful work, the authors present a comprehensive review of five such tricks, each representing a domain where they have achieved significant progress. These domains encompass various aspects of human communication, including discourse analysis, conversational implicature, irony, and pragmatic inference. Through their detailed analysis, the authors shed light on the intricate mechanisms employed by speakers and listeners to navigate the complexities of language and convey nuanced meanings.

However, the authors also raise an important question: Where have they neglected to push the frontier forward in these areas? This inquiry prompts a deeper exploration of the potential unexplored territories within pragmatics. The Element serves as a valuable resource for scholars and researchers, offering a brief overview of some central domains of pragmatics and providing a survey of promising targets for future research.

Moreover, this title is available as Open Access on Cambridge Core, ensuring widespread accessibility and dissemination of knowledge to the academic community. The Element thus contributes to the ongoing dialogue in pragmatics, shedding light on the known unknowns and paving the way for further advancements in this dynamic field.

ISBN-13: 9781009489638