Single Idea 10462

[catalogued under 19. Language / B. Reference / 5. Speaker's Reference]

Full Idea

It is a fallacy that all the information in an utterance must come from its interpretation, which ignores the essentially pragmatic fact that the speaker is making the utterance.

Gist of Idea

Information comes from knowing who is speaking, not just from interpretation of the utterance

Source

Kent Bach (What Does It Take to Refer? [2006], 22.2 L4)

Book Reference

'Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Language', ed/tr. Lepore,E/Smith,B [OUP 2008], p.549


A Reaction

[He cites Barwise and Perry 1983:34] This is blatantly obvious in indexical remarks like 'I am tired', where the words don't tell you who is tired. But also 'the car has broken down, dear'.