A new framework views conversation as a game played against a scoreboard of questions
In short: Researchers proposing a new framework for pragmatic analysis suggest that discourse functions like a game. In this model, the context of a conversation acts as a scoreboard, organized around the specific questions being addressed by the people talking.
The framework treats context as a scoreboard of different information types, with questions modeled as sets of possible answers that must be addressed for an utterance to make sense. It also proposes that spoken emphasis, or prosodic focus, typically signals which question is currently under discussion, at least in English.
This is a theoretical proposal in formal semantics and pragmatics, not an empirical study of real conversations, so it offers a mathematical model of discourse coherence rather than direct evidence from observed speech.
Why it matters: Offers a formal way to model how conversations stay coherent by tracking the questions speakers are trying to answer.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Source: Research: Roberts (2012). Information structure in discourse: Towards an integrated formal theory of pragmatics. Semantics and Pragmatics. · cc-by
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/culture-research-a-new-framework-views-conversation-as-a-game-played-against.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in Language families · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics
