This paper explores the advantages of a dynamic notion of context in which not only shared knowledge, but also accommodation of assumptions has a central role. To this end, we analyze the interpretation of tautologies: according to the literature, their interpretation is based on prior knowledge. By contrast, our hypothesis is that shared knowledge is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for the felicitous uses of a tautology. To support our view, we conducted a corpus study and an interpretation questionnaire with two experimental tasks. The results align with our predictions.
Victoria Escandell-Vidal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Para correspondencia, dirigirse a: Victoria Escandell-Vidal (victoria.escandell@ucm.es), UCM, Facultad de Filología, Departamento de Lingüística, Ed. D-00.333, 28040 Madrid, España.
Elena Vilinbakhova, Saint Pertersburg State University
Para correspondencia, dirigirse a: Elena Vilinbakhova (e.vilinbakhova@spbu.ru), Saint Pertersburg State University, Facultad de Filología, Departamento de Lingüística General, Malecón Universitetskaya 11, 199034 San Petersburgo, Rusia
Escandell-Vidal, V., & Vilinbakhova, E. (2022). Context, shared knowledge and accommodation. On the interpretation of tautologies. Boletín De Filología, 57(1), pp. 345–394. Retrieved from https://revistateoriadelarte.uchile.cl/index.php/BDF/article/view/67561