Abstract
This paper is mainly concerned with the analysis of some aspects of the specific/non-specific contrast. It also contains some remarks on the de dicto/de re ambiguity in belief contexts. The basic assumption underlying our analysis is that an adequate theory of meaning for a language should consist of (at least) a semantic theory and a pragmatic theory. A semantic theory we consider to be a theory of truth and a pragmatic theory a theory of correctness. One of the grounds for adopting this assumption is that there are aspects of the meaning of certain expressions and constructions which cannot be captured in terms of truth conditions, but which should be described in terms of the conditions under which these expressions and constructions can be used correctly.1 An important and interesting part of these conditions are those which concern the information of language users. That part of a pragmatic theory which deals with these conditions we call ‘epistemic pragmatics’.
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Bibliography
Groenendijk, Jeroen, and Martin Stokhof: 1978a, ‘Epistemic Pragmatics: Outlines and Two Applications’, in J. Groenendijk & M. Stokhof (eds.), Amsterdam Papers in Formal Grammar, Vol. II, Amsterdam.
Groenendijk, Jeroen, and Martin Stokhof: 1978b, ‘Semantics, Pragmatics and the Theory of Meaning’, Journal of Pragmatics II, pp. 49–70.
Groenendijk, Jeroen, and Martin Stokhof: (in preparation), Epistemic Pragmatics. A Logical Analysis of the Role of Information in Language Use.
Kasher, Asa, and Dov Gabbay: 1976, ‘On The Semantics and Pragmatics of Specific and Non-Specific Indefinite Expressions’, Theoretical Linguistics III, pp. 145–190.
Klein, Ewan: 1977, ‘Referential Opacity’, ms., Amsterdam.
Klein, Ewan: 1979, On Sentences which Report Beliefs, Desires, and Other Mental Attitudes, Unpublished Phd. dissertation, University of Cambridge.
Quine, W. V. O.: 1966, ‘Variables Explained Away’, in: W. V. O. Quine, Selected Logic Papers, New York.
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© 1980 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Groenendijk, J., Stokhof, M. (1980). A Pragmatic Analysis of Specificity. In: Heny, F. (eds) Ambiguities in Intensional Contexts. Synthese Language Library, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8377-9_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8377-9_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-277-1168-7
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