HERBERT PAUL GRICE, "CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE," THE OXFORD LECTURES, 1966, BANC MSS 90/135c

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Enthymemes in Dialogue A micro-rhetorical approach Ellen Breitholtz Enthymemes in Dialogue Enthymemes in Dialogue A micro-rhetorical approach Ellen Breitholtz Doctoral dissertation in linguistics, University of Gothenburg August 21, 2014 c 2014 Ellen Breitholtz Printed by Ineko, Gothenburg, 2014 Dissertation edition, September 2014 Distribution: University of Gothenburg Department of Philosophy, Linguistics, and Theory of Science P. o. box 200, se-405 30 GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN Abstract Title: Enthymemes in dialogue: A micro-rhetorical approach Author: Ellen Breitholtz Language: English Department: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg, Box 200, SE-405-30 G¨oteborg Year: 2014 In dialogue we frequently present arguments which are based on commonly accepted non-logical inferences. In rhetorical theory, this type of argument is called an enthymeme, and a pattern of reasoning that it is based on is called a topos. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role that enthymemes play in natural language dialogue. The analyses focus on authentic dialogue material, and informal theories from linguistics and language philosophy are combined with formal theories in what can be considered a micro-rhetorical approach. This approach focuses on function in language, and the idea is that linguistic phenomena of the type studied by linguists are the micro-end of rhetorical phenomena. Formalisation is an important method in this thesis. The information state of a dialogue participant is modelled as a dialogue gameboard showing her current take on the dialogue and the cognitive resources currently activated. The formalisations are done in the semantic frame work Type Theory with Records. The first part of this thesis focuses on the linguistic and philosophical context of enthymeme and topos. In chapters 3–4 the formal model is developed, and in chapter 5 it is applied to a number of cases. Some of the main contributions of this thesis are that it points out that underpinning patterns of resoning are necessary to make pragmatic inferences, and suggests a precise way of formalising these patterns. Also, the concept of Accommodation is associated with enthymemes and topoi. Accommodation of enthymemes explains how agents can infer some types of rhetorical relations based on accessed topoi. Accommodation of topoi o↵ers an explanation to some types of misunderstandings as well as a way of looking at learning of new topoi. Keywords: enthymeme, topos, dialogue, TTR, gameboard semantics, dialogue modelling, accommodation, non-monotonic reasoning, micro-rhetoric Acknowledgements There are so many people I am grateful to for helping and supporting me through the writing of this thesis. First and foremost I want to thank Robin Cooper – who has been an absolutely brilliant supervisor – for inspiring discussions, encouragement, help and patience, not least when introducing me to TTR. I am also very grateful to Stina Ericsson, my second supervisor, for detailed and constructive comments on my manuscript and for having been a great support through rough patches. During my time as a PhD-student I have also had the advantage of discussing my work with many great scholars who have visited Gothenburg. These discussions have been a big help in shaping my topic and relating it to other research. These people are for example Nicholas Asher, Cleo Condoravdi, Andrew Gargett, Jonathan Ginzburg, Alison Hall, Larry Horn, Ruth Kempson and Shalom Lappin. I also owe a special thanks to Raquel Fernandez for giving a wonderful presentation of my thesis and discussing it with me at my pre-defence seminar. Many of my linguistics colleagues at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science have also made valuable contributions, at seminars as well as during co↵ee breaks, which have improved this thesis a lot. For example, Liz Coppock, who pointed out a problem with an earlier version of the theory, which improved it a great deal. Elin Alm´er, Sally Boyd, Karin Cavallin, Simon Dobnik, Sta↵an Larsson, Jenny Myrendal and Cajsa Ottesj¨o have helped out a lot by pointing out relevant references, discussing various problems and being generally knowledgeable. A warm thanks also to the MODIS seminar on discourse and interaction at the Department of Modern Languages, Uppsala, for inviting me, enthusiastically listening to my presentation and many insightful and valuable comments on my work I have also had the pleasure to attend a number of conferences and workshops where I have had the opportunity to learn about relevant work by others as well as getting valuable comments on my own work. Many of my contributions to these events have been co-written, and I am really grateful to Robin Cooper, Stina Ericsson, Kristina Lundholm Fors and Jessica Villing for writing with me! In general, “FLoV” has been the perfect place for me to write this thesis – having access to philosophers and logicians, in addition to linguists, has been invaluable. I particularly want to thank Susanna Andersson and Stellan Petersson for reading and commenting on parts of my text and Fredrik Engstr¨om and Martin Kas˚a for setting me straight on various matters involving logic. I am also very grateful to Robert Andersson for continuous LaTeX support and lots of help with getting the manuscript print ready, and Helena Bj¨arnlind, Pia G˚ardmo, Jenny Larsson, Hans Vappula and Paula W¨ane for helping me with practical matters. On a personal note, I want to thank my friends – at the department and elsewhere – who have been cheering me on during the last few years, you know who you are! I want to thank my parents, Claes and Ylva, and my parents-in-law, Hans and Margareta, for encouragement, support and help with the kids. I also want to thank my sister, Kristina, for always understanding. Finally, I want to thank my posse, Sta↵an, Annie and Mattias for putting up with me over the last year or so – you are the best!!