What Malapropisms Mean: A Reply To Donald Davidson |
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Authors: | Marga Reimer |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Social Sciences and Communication, University of Salento (Lecce), via dei Salesiani, 25, 73100 Lecce, Italy |
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Abstract: | In this paper, I argue against Davidson's (1986) view that our ability to understand malapropisms forces us to re-think the standard construal of literal word meaning as conventional meaning. Specially, I contend that the standard construal is not only intuitive but also well-motivated, for appeal to conventional meaning is necessary to understand why speakers utter the particular words they do. I also contend that, contra Davidson, we can preserve the intuitive distinction between what a speaker means and what his words mean, even while retaining the standard construal of literal word meaning as conventional. |
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