Voila le chien. Il est beau!

People at least in Delaware, where it is not deemed an oxymoron, speak of the forthright negotiator principle. The thing was brought to my attention from the language log, which he subscribes, by N. E. Allott, elsewhere. The principle includes phrases like 'subjective understanding' of things, which confuse me.

For, consider this scenario of 'subjective understanding' in Grice:

Grice claims that

(i) Regarde le chien, c'est tres beau.

may mean, on occasion

(ii) Please feel free to help yourself with a piece of cake.

(WoW, v).

Grice notes that if U thinks that A thinks that 'x' means 'y'

-- even if it does not for U himself,

U may _still_ count as having meaning that p

(which is the expression meaning of y, rather than x).

"Matter of fact, last Thursday I was listening, at St. John's, a French lesson being given to Sue, the small daughter of my friend, George Richardson [who would eventually write his obit. in St. John's]. I noticed that she thought that

(i) means (ii) (in French).

though in fact it means something quite different, to wit

(iii) Look at the dog. Cute, no?

"Now, we strolled along the gardens of St. John's, and on the way back to the hall, I saw that there was some cake in the central table. I addressed Sue this French sentence, (i), and, exactly as I intended -- and had reason to to believe my intention would be fulfilled, that is -- Sue helped herself to a piece of the cake. So,

I intended her to think
(and to think that I intended her to think)
that the sentence uttered by me, (i) meant (ii)

and I would say that the FACT that the sentence meant and was known to my (by my subjective understanding, as it were) to mean something quite different, to wit, that the addressee should look at the dog, as it was so cute, is

no obstacle

for MY having meant something by my utterance, to wit, that she was to have a piece of cake, or some cake." (or words to that perlocutionary effect)."

Compared to this sophistication by the less sophistic of Oxonian dons, Delawarians are "a piece of cake" -- if oxymoronic!

Cheers,

JL