| Abstract: | This essay constitutes a theoretical account of how speakers interpret that which is taken for granted in messages. It is argued that the term “taken for granted” (TFG) is useful in reconsidering research concerning enthymemes, argument theory, indirect speech acts, conversational maxims, pragmatic implication, and a number of other areas. When combined with materials from the symbolic interactionist literature on alignment, the TFG concept provides a framework for a model of how speakers interpret unspoken portions of utterances. |
