The pragmatics of encouragement: An inquiry into defaults vis-à-vis inferences

Abstract

This paper investigates primary meta-level meanings of encouragement, particularly in Arabic, in order to inform discourse interpretation models, mechanisms, and classifications in post-Gricean pragmatics. It particularly addresses two main questions: How should default versus inferential meanings be conceived and defined, particularly in relation to contextuality and conventionality? And what role do metapragmatic conventions, that is, the intuitive manner in which linguistic devices are employed by interlocutors, play in generating defaults and inferences? This paper presents both theoretical and empirical evidence with a cross-cultural basis, bringing in fresh insights on the theory of meaning from Arabic discourse pragmatics as well as a survey-based pilot study on Arabic discourse use. The findings support that: (i) defaults are preferred on the basis of statistically significant frequency; (ii) defaults are salient meanings that can be dependent on the situation and exist on a scale of degrees; (iii) meta-meanings of encouragement in Arabic can be recovered by default, and such defaults are socioculturally and metapragmatically grounded.