Assertion
By: Mark Jary.
Series: Palgrave studies in pragmatics, language, and cognition
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780230573994
Subjects: Grammar, Comparative and general -- Mood
Description: Assertion - the act of presenting what we say as true--is at the centre of human social life. Yet what might seem a relatively simple phenomenon has proved difficult to define or characterise successfully. Is assertion just another speech act, on a par with promising, ordering and the like, or is it more fundamental? How is assertion related to belief? Does the declarative mood have a special role to play in the correct analysis of assertion or can assertion be characterised independently of linguistic form? What is the relationship between what a speaker asserts and her main point? All these questions are addressed in this book as the author develops a novel account of the pragmatic processes involved in assertion and the role of the declarative mood in those processes. In doing so, he synthesizes a range of perspectives on assertion, drawing on the work of philosophers, linguists and cognitive scientists.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction; title: Assertion in speech-act theory; title: Assertion, belief and knowledge; title: A sign of assertion; title: Assertion and Common Ground; title: Assertion and mood; title: Assertion and main point; title: Assertion and relevance; title: Conclusion; title: References; title: Index.