Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation
Some traditional accounts view literal meaning (LM) as the central component in the process of meaning interpretation. This paper supports this view while adding that LM is the first but not the only piece of evidence available to the hearer of the speaker’s meaning. After critically evaluating exam...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Topics in Linguistics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2018-0012 |
| _version_ | 1827299235000745984 |
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| author | Abuarrah Sufyan |
| author_facet | Abuarrah Sufyan |
| author_sort | Abuarrah Sufyan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Some traditional accounts view literal meaning (LM) as the central component in the process of meaning interpretation. This paper supports this view while adding that LM is the first but not the only piece of evidence available to the hearer of the speaker’s meaning. After critically evaluating examples from previous studies and my own examples, the study concludes that discourse comprehension is a sequential and graded process. To understand the significance of LM as evidence in the process of meaning understanding, the study has to reconsider the notion of evidence according to Relevance Theory (RT) and define the vigorously debated term of LM. The results from this study suggest that literal meaning is initial and context is subsequential; while both co-determine the speaker’s meaning in implicature, the latter enriches the speaker’s meaning into a higher order speech act in explicature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:29:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f31234a06f914b4983b6da84c1597231 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1337-7590 2199-6504 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:29:22Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Topics in Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj.art-f31234a06f914b4983b6da84c15972312024-04-02T04:55:57ZengConstantine the Philosopher University in NitraTopics in Linguistics1337-75902199-65042018-12-01192869610.2478/topling-2018-0012topling-2018-0012Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretationAbuarrah Sufyan0An-Najah National University, PalestineSome traditional accounts view literal meaning (LM) as the central component in the process of meaning interpretation. This paper supports this view while adding that LM is the first but not the only piece of evidence available to the hearer of the speaker’s meaning. After critically evaluating examples from previous studies and my own examples, the study concludes that discourse comprehension is a sequential and graded process. To understand the significance of LM as evidence in the process of meaning understanding, the study has to reconsider the notion of evidence according to Relevance Theory (RT) and define the vigorously debated term of LM. The results from this study suggest that literal meaning is initial and context is subsequential; while both co-determine the speaker’s meaning in implicature, the latter enriches the speaker’s meaning into a higher order speech act in explicature.https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2018-0012literal meaningcontextevidenceexplicatureimplicature |
| spellingShingle | Abuarrah Sufyan Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation Topics in Linguistics literal meaning context evidence explicature implicature |
| title | Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation |
| title_full | Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation |
| title_fullStr | Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation |
| title_short | Literal meaning: A first step to meaning interpretation |
| title_sort | literal meaning a first step to meaning interpretation |
| topic | literal meaning context evidence explicature implicature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/topling-2018-0012 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abuarrahsufyan literalmeaningafirststeptomeaninginterpretation |