Loose talk, negation and commutativity: A hybrid static-dynamic theory

Abstract

This paper investigates the interaction of phenomena associated with loose talk with embedded contexts. §1 introduces core features associated with the loose interpretation of an utterance and presents a sketch of how to theorise about such utterances in terms of a relation of ‘pragmatic equivalence’. §2 discusses further features of loose talk arising from interaction with ‘loose talk regulators’, negation and conjunction. §§3-4 introduce a hybrid static/dynamic framework and show how it can be employed in developing a fragment which accounts for the data surveyed in §§1-2.