| In the model of language use proposed by philosopher H. Paul Grice, people in conversation recognize
“a common purpose or set of purposes, or at least a mutually accepted direction,” and they cooperate in contributing
to those purposes. Grice went on to argue, “Talking [is] a special case or variety of purposive, indeed rational,
behavior.” But Grice tacitly assumed a type of omniscient rationality: People in conversation have perfect knowledge
of the language and the current common ground, and they have an unlimited processing capacity in choosing what to
say. In reality, people’s rationality is bounded, and that leads to quite a different view of language use. I take
up some of the consequences of bounded rationality in language use. |
|
Herbert H. Clark is Professor of Psychology at Stanford
University. He is the author of several books on language and language
use, including Psychology and Language (a textbook co-authored with Eve
V. Clark), Arenas of Language Use, and Using Language. He is also author
of over one hundred research articles and chapters. His research is
concerned with speaking and understanding in interactive communication,
especially conversation. Clark was a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and a
fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He
was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the
Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences. |
