Beyond meaningNN and ostension : pragmatic inference in the wild

Abstract

Inferential pragmatics is typically considered to deal exclusively with meaning that has been overtly and intentionally communicated. This paper sets out to in- vestigate whether this established domain of enquiry can be extended to include instances of information transmission that may not be characterised by an un- derlying communicative intention on the part of a stimulus producer. Adopting a relevance-theoretic perspective, I argue that this can indeed be done and show how it can be quite naturally accommodated in the framework. The upshot of my argumentation in this regard is that pragmatic inference has a central role to play in interpretation even beyond the confines of what has been traditionally viewed as communication proper.