Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 09:27:48 -0500

From: debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIUC.EDU

Subject: Re: Name that syntagm



The term you are looking for (or at least one of them), when the compositional

semantics does not add up to the pragmatic meaning (or illocutionary force) is

indirect speech act. When one finds these (and even direct speech acts and

other matters misinterpreted cross-linguistically, the generally agreed upon

area of study appears to be interlanguage pragmatics.

This ought to convince people that there are linguists out there. At least we

have a code.

Dennis Preston

22709mgr[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]msu.edu



Well, other Dennis, I don't think indirect speech act is narrow enough for

this particular phenomenon. True, it is that, but it is also more. At least

we have a code. But has anybody got the secret decoder ring?



(the real) Dennis

--

Dennis Baron debaron[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uiuc.edu



Department of English 217-333-2392

University of Illinois fax: 217-333-4321

608 South Wright Street

Urbana, Illinois 61801