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THE SEMANTICS-PRAGMATICS INTERPLAY, AND ITS CULTURAL LOGIC
N.J. Enfield Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen Wednesday, February 7, 1 PM MJH Rm 126 Most discussion of the semantics-pragmatics distinction concentrates on the informational logic by which tokens of code become interpretatively enriched in context. Perhaps less often considered are the social and cultural dimensions to this process. In this informal talk, I begin with a brief review of the semantics-pragmatics distinction, its defining properties, some of its payoffs, and some disagreements between analysts as to where and how the line between semantics and pragmatics should be drawn. I then consider social-cultural aspects of the process of pragmatic enrichment, which arise from the role of common ground. Common ground is, by definition, a social phenomenon, defined with reference to two or more individuals, based on personal as well as cultural association. I discuss some consequences of this for a "collaborative" model of language use (H. Clark), where there is a relation of codetermination between a speaker's selection of code (lexical item, construction), and a hearer's interpretative enrichment. The process is guided strategically, not only in order to satisfy informational imperatives, but also social-affiliational ones. The conclusion discusses implications for an understanding of semantic variation and change. Illustrative examples are supplied from a number of language communities (including English, Dutch, Mandarin, and Lao). 
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