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On the rational basis of everyday language| old_uid | 8422 |
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| title | On the rational basis of everyday language |
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| start_date | 2010/03/23 |
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| schedule | 12h-13h30 |
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| online | no |
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| summary | Everyday language is far from the ideal assumed in traditional
theories of language. Ordinary people simply cannot live up to that
ideal. In conversation, speakers hesitate mid-utterance, repeat words,
add uh and um, redo phrases, abandon phrases, and change course
mid-utterance, all in great numbers. And listeners often interrupt and
ask for clarification. Also, speakers constantly check on their
partners’ understanding, and their partners oblige by providing the right
evidence. In the traditional theories, these behaviors fall short of the
ideal and would be labeled irrational. But are they
irrational? Traditional theories assume that language users have a
omniscient rationality based on perfect memory and unlimited
processing capacities. Let us assume, instead, that language users have a bounded rationality based on limited memory and limited processing capacities (à la Simon, Tversky, and Kahneman). I will outline
a model of language use based on bounded rationality and show that, in
this model, these behaviors are fully rational. |
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| oncancel | changement d’horaire |
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| responsibles | <not specified> |
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