Pub Date : 2026-02-04DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.007
Jesus David Guerra-Lyons , Valentina Concu , Johan Alberto De La Rosa Yacomelo
This study investigates the English extra-clausal appearance construction it seems as a discourse-sensitive resource for epistemic stance, integrating insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics and Interpersonal Pragmatics. Using corpus data from COCA, BAWE, and MICASE, the analysis explores how evidential, modal, and subjective meanings are shaped by discourse context—particularly mode and register—and by speakers’ relational strategies. Four semantic-pragmatic categories—perceptual, circumstantial, generic, and conjectural—are identified and situated along a continuum ranging from experiential to epistemically marked uses. Personalization through to me clusters overwhelmingly in conjectural contexts, highlighting its role as a stance-taking strategy that foregrounds subjectivity while mitigating face-threat. The study provides an empirically grounded account of it seems as a flexible interpersonal construction shaped by contextual, epistemic, and relational work. The findings contribute to our understanding of how grammatical constructions function within discourse to manage epistemic stance and interpersonal alignment.
{"title":"Not all it seems are the same: A systemic functional and pragmatic approach to evidentiality and mitigation","authors":"Jesus David Guerra-Lyons , Valentina Concu , Johan Alberto De La Rosa Yacomelo","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the English extra-clausal appearance construction <em>it seems</em> as a discourse-sensitive resource for epistemic stance, integrating insights from Systemic Functional Linguistics and Interpersonal Pragmatics. Using corpus data from COCA, BAWE, and MICASE, the analysis explores how evidential, modal, and subjective meanings are shaped by discourse context—particularly mode and register—and by speakers’ relational strategies. Four semantic-pragmatic categories—perceptual, circumstantial, generic, and conjectural—are identified and situated along a continuum ranging from experiential to epistemically marked uses. Personalization through <em>to me</em> clusters overwhelmingly in conjectural contexts, highlighting its role as a stance-taking strategy that foregrounds subjectivity while mitigating face-threat. The study provides an empirically grounded account of <em>it seems</em> as a flexible interpersonal construction shaped by contextual, epistemic, and relational work. The findings contribute to our understanding of how grammatical constructions function within discourse to manage epistemic stance and interpersonal alignment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"255 ","pages":"Pages 1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146116575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.004
Shuyan Wang , Shaohua Fang
This study investigates how Mandarin-speaking learners of English (L2) generate scalar implicatures (SIs) involving the quantifier some and the disjunctive or, compared to native English speakers (L1). It further explores the influence of linguistic (L2 proficiency) and cognitive (working memory, inhibitory control) factors on interpreting SIs in L2. Using the covered-box paradigm—a modified picture selection task with reduced meta-linguistic demands—we tested Chinese-speaking L2 learners and native English speakers on their interpretations of sentences containing some and or. Results showed no significant differences between L1 and L2 participants in the overall rate of rejecting under-informative statements for either scalar expression, although both groups rejected significantly more under-informative statements containing or than those containing some. Importantly, the L2 learners displayed less tolerance to the violation of ignorance inference with the disjunctive or. Cognitive and linguistic factors showed limited effects on SI performance: neither working memory nor L2 proficiency predicted SI performance, and inhibitory control only showed marginal effect in certain conditions. These findings support the view that SIs can be achieved in a native-like manner by L2 learners. They further underscore the importance of considering both scale type and individual cognitive capacities in models of pragmatic acquisition in L2.
{"title":"Some and or in second language acquisition: Exploring linguistic and cognitive factors","authors":"Shuyan Wang , Shaohua Fang","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how Mandarin-speaking learners of English (L2) generate scalar implicatures (SIs) involving the quantifier <em>some</em> and the disjunctive <em>or</em>, compared to native English speakers (L1). It further explores the influence of linguistic (L2 proficiency) and cognitive (working memory, inhibitory control) factors on interpreting SIs in L2. Using the covered-box paradigm—a modified picture selection task with reduced meta-linguistic demands—we tested Chinese-speaking L2 learners and native English speakers on their interpretations of sentences containing <em>some</em> and <em>or</em>. Results showed no significant differences between L1 and L2 participants in the overall rate of rejecting under-informative statements for either scalar expression, although both groups rejected significantly more under-informative statements containing <em>or</em> than those containing <em>some</em>. Importantly, the L2 learners displayed less tolerance to the violation of ignorance inference with the disjunctive <em>or</em>. Cognitive and linguistic factors showed limited effects on SI performance: neither working memory nor L2 proficiency predicted SI performance, and inhibitory control only showed marginal effect in certain conditions. These findings support the view that SIs can be achieved in a native-like manner by L2 learners. They further underscore the importance of considering both scale type and individual cognitive capacities in models of pragmatic acquisition in L2.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 105-121"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-30DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.006
Michal Marmorstein, Beatrice Szczepek-Reed
{"title":"Newsmarks from a crosslinguistic perspective: Introduction","authors":"Michal Marmorstein, Beatrice Szczepek-Reed","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 122-126"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146079141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigates how linguistic framing—specifically, the use of presupposition versus assertion—affects the critical evaluation of incoming information across development. While presuppositions present content as taken for granted, assertions introduce information as new, leading to differing levels of epistemic scrutiny. Prior work has shown that adults are less likely to detect falsehoods when they are presupposed rather than asserted. This study explores whether similar framing effects operate in childhood, and whether children's sensitivity is modulated by Information Structure—specifically, topic–focus articulation. To this end, we tested three age groups (7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults) using a truth-evaluation task involving short videos and spoken sentences that either asserted, focally presupposed, or topically presupposed false information. Results revealed that across all age groups, presuppositions increased the likelihood of accepting false statements as true, indicating their potential to mislead. However, this effect varied with age: compared to adults, the impact of topical presuppositions was especially pronounced in 10-year-olds, and this stronger effect was possibly present in 7-year-olds as well. The results have implications for theories of pragmatic development, linguistic models, and practices of epistemic vigilance, with practical relevance for understanding children's susceptibility to misleading or manipulative content.
{"title":"Presupposition, assertion, and epistemic vigilance across development","authors":"Giulia Giunta , Maria Roccaforte , Nausicaa Pouscoulous , Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how linguistic framing—specifically, the use of presupposition versus assertion—affects the critical evaluation of incoming information across development. While presuppositions present content as taken for granted, assertions introduce information as new, leading to differing levels of epistemic scrutiny. Prior work has shown that adults are less likely to detect falsehoods when they are presupposed rather than asserted. This study explores whether similar framing effects operate in childhood, and whether children's sensitivity is modulated by Information Structure—specifically, topic–focus articulation. To this end, we tested three age groups (7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and adults) using a truth-evaluation task involving short videos and spoken sentences that either asserted, focally presupposed, or topically presupposed false information. Results revealed that across all age groups, presuppositions increased the likelihood of accepting false statements as true, indicating their potential to mislead. However, this effect varied with age: compared to adults, the impact of topical presuppositions was especially pronounced in 10-year-olds, and this stronger effect was possibly present in 7-year-olds as well. The results have implications for theories of pragmatic development, linguistic models, and practices of epistemic vigilance, with practical relevance for understanding children's susceptibility to misleading or manipulative content.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 94-104"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.017
Yanli Fu , Phoenix W.Y. Lam
This study investigates the multifunctional role of the discourse marker “but” in English-language media interviews, moving from its traditional contrastive meaning to its broader use as a communicational practice shaped by institutional and cultural contexts. Drawing on a 120-interview corpus featuring Liu Xin (CGTN, China) and Stephen Sackur (BBC, the United Kingdom), the study combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine both frequency and pragmatic distribution. The results show that Sackur uses “but” almost three times more frequently than Liu, with significant differences in functional range. While both interviewers employ “but” for contrast and topic management, Sackur frequently extends its use to concession, consequence, disagreement, and monitoring, whereas Liu emphasizes topic progression, hedging, and interpersonal alignment. Statistical tests confirm these differences across sequential, ideational, rhetorical, and interpersonal domains. These findings demonstrate that “but” is not limited to marking contrast but operates as a communicational resource that organizes interaction, negotiates stance, and encodes media ideologies. Sackur's frequent use of “but” reflects the adversarial traditions of British journalism, prioritizing argumentative progression and epistemic authority. By contrast, Liu's more selective and harmony-oriented uses reflect Chinese communicative norms that value continuity, relational balance, and mediated engagement. By focusing on interviewer talk, this study contributes to discourse pragmatics, media linguistics, and intercultural communication. It shows how multifunctional discourse markers can reveal broader cultural values and institutional strategies and calls for future research into other markers, multimodal cues, and diverse media contexts.
{"title":"From contrast to communicational practice: The discourse marker “but” in Chinese and British media interviews","authors":"Yanli Fu , Phoenix W.Y. Lam","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the multifunctional role of the discourse marker “but” in English-language media interviews, moving from its traditional contrastive meaning to its broader use as a communicational practice shaped by institutional and cultural contexts. Drawing on a 120-interview corpus featuring Liu Xin (CGTN, China) and Stephen Sackur (BBC, the United Kingdom), the study combines quantitative and qualitative methods to examine both frequency and pragmatic distribution. The results show that Sackur uses “but” almost three times more frequently than Liu, with significant differences in functional range. While both interviewers employ “but” for contrast and topic management, Sackur frequently extends its use to concession, consequence, disagreement, and monitoring, whereas Liu emphasizes topic progression, hedging, and interpersonal alignment. Statistical tests confirm these differences across sequential, ideational, rhetorical, and interpersonal domains. These findings demonstrate that “but” is not limited to marking contrast but operates as a communicational resource that organizes interaction, negotiates stance, and encodes media ideologies. Sackur's frequent use of “but” reflects the adversarial traditions of British journalism, prioritizing argumentative progression and epistemic authority. By contrast, Liu's more selective and harmony-oriented uses reflect Chinese communicative norms that value continuity, relational balance, and mediated engagement. By focusing on interviewer talk, this study contributes to discourse pragmatics, media linguistics, and intercultural communication. It shows how multifunctional discourse markers can reveal broader cultural values and institutional strategies and calls for future research into other markers, multimodal cues, and diverse media contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 81-90"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.006
Penelope Eckert
The study of social meaning requires that we transcend the boundary that linguistics has carefully erected and maintained between language and the social world. This begins by understanding that the role of language is to bring about change, and that social meaning lies in the subjectivity that underlies, and gives meaning to, this change.
{"title":"Meaning is change","authors":"Penelope Eckert","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study of social meaning requires that we transcend the boundary that linguistics has carefully erected and maintained between language and the social world. This begins by understanding that the role of language is to bring about change, and that social meaning lies in the subjectivity that underlies, and gives meaning to, this change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"253 ","pages":"Pages 72-75"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146023584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.013
Fuyan Zhu, Qianxi Yu, Shanpeng Li, Ping Tang
This study investigated Mandarin-speaking preschoolers’ ability to use prosody and facial expressions to comprehend verbal irony. Specifically, it examined whether these children could use prosodic and facial cues alone, and whether they could consistently integrate these cues with context. A total of 110 Mandarin-speaking 4–7-year-olds and 23 adult controls completed a story comprehension task. Participants first heard ironic remarks accompanied by ironic prosody and facial expressions, without any preceding context, and their accuracy in comprehending these remarks was evaluated. They then heard remarks with preceding ironic context and accompanying prosody and facial expressions that were either congruent or incongruent with the context, and their comprehension accuracy was compared to that in a context-only condition. The results showed that without context, only 6–7-year-olds achieved above-chance accuracy using prosodic and facial cues alone, while 4–5-year-olds did not. With context available, 6–7-year-olds, like adults, consistently integrated prosodic and facial cues with context, showing increased accuracy when cues were context-congruent but decreased accuracy when context-incongruent, whereas 4–5-year-olds did not show such patterns. These findings indicate that age 6 represents a crucial developmental milestone toward adult-like use of prosody and facial expressions for irony comprehension in Mandarin-speaking children.
{"title":"The use of prosody and facial expressions in irony comprehension by Mandarin-speaking preschoolers","authors":"Fuyan Zhu, Qianxi Yu, Shanpeng Li, Ping Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated Mandarin-speaking preschoolers’ ability to use prosody and facial expressions to comprehend verbal irony. Specifically, it examined whether these children could use prosodic and facial cues alone, and whether they could consistently integrate these cues with context. A total of 110 Mandarin-speaking 4–7-year-olds and 23 adult controls completed a story comprehension task. Participants first heard ironic remarks accompanied by ironic prosody and facial expressions, without any preceding context, and their accuracy in comprehending these remarks was evaluated. They then heard remarks with preceding ironic context and accompanying prosody and facial expressions that were either congruent or incongruent with the context, and their comprehension accuracy was compared to that in a context-only condition. The results showed that without context, only 6–7-year-olds achieved above-chance accuracy using prosodic and facial cues alone, while 4–5-year-olds did not. With context available, 6–7-year-olds, like adults, consistently integrated prosodic and facial cues with context, showing increased accuracy when cues were context-congruent but decreased accuracy when context-incongruent, whereas 4–5-year-olds did not show such patterns. These findings indicate that age 6 represents a crucial developmental milestone toward adult-like use of prosody and facial expressions for irony comprehension in Mandarin-speaking children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"253 ","pages":"Pages 60-71"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146023650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2025.11.006
Sonja Gipper
This paper investigates the role of repeat format in contextualizing degrees of informativity in Yurakaré (isolate, Bolivia) request for reconfirmation sequences. Requests for reconfirmation constitute a subtype of newsmarks, inviting at least a reconfirming response by the interlocutor. Across languages, there are two main competing formats for formulating requests for reconfirmation and other responsive actions in conversation: repeats and conventionalized formats such as response particles. Given that repeats restate (part of) a proposition while at the same time being informationally redundant, they have the capacity of explicitly spreading information across various turns. With these properties, repeats may potentially be employed in conversation to reduce peaks in information rate. This hypothesis is explored in this paper for Yurakaré request for reconfirmation sequences. The results, however, suggest that repeat format in the request for reconfirmation and the reconfirming response does not participate in the contextualization of degrees of informativity in Yurakaré request for reconfirmation sequences.
{"title":"Trajectories of request for reconfirmation sequences in Yurakaré: Do repeats reduce information rate in conversation?","authors":"Sonja Gipper","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the role of repeat format in contextualizing degrees of informativity in Yurakaré (isolate, Bolivia) request for reconfirmation sequences. Requests for reconfirmation constitute a subtype of newsmarks, inviting at least a reconfirming response by the interlocutor. Across languages, there are two main competing formats for formulating requests for reconfirmation and other responsive actions in conversation: repeats and conventionalized formats such as response particles. Given that repeats restate (part of) a proposition while at the same time being informationally redundant, they have the capacity of explicitly spreading information across various turns. With these properties, repeats may potentially be employed in conversation to reduce peaks in information rate. This hypothesis is explored in this paper for Yurakaré request for reconfirmation sequences. The results, however, suggest that repeat format in the request for reconfirmation and the reconfirming response does not participate in the contextualization of degrees of informativity in Yurakaré request for reconfirmation sequences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 64-80"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.015
Chenxiao Ma, Yong Jiang
This study investigates the informational function and game-theoretic optimization of the Chinese hypothetical conjunction wanyi (“what if/in case”) in conditionals. As a conditional marker, wanyi raises low-probability but cognitively reasonable scenarios, expanding the conditional space, modulating probabilistic reasoning and informational entropy, and then increasing epistemic uncertainty. Drawing on Shannon's entropy (1948) and models of signaling games (Lewis, 1969; Van Rooy, 2004), the analysis demonstrates that wanyi acts as an optimal signaler, expanding uncertainty to reveal marginal risks, thus creating vigilance and enabling adaptive decision-making in asymmetric or high-stakes interactions. By softening illocutionary force and avoiding outspoken commitment, it prompts cooperation and reduces face-threatening potential. Pragmatically, wanyi diverges from markers like ruguo (“if”), functioning not only to signal hypotheses but also to express speakers' anxiety, probe hearers indirectly, lower threats, and minimize reputational risk. However, it shows inadequacy in high-probability, positive-oriented, time-critical, or precision-driven contexts, highlighting its context-sensitive pragmatics. By integrating information theory, game-theoretic pragmatics, and fine-grained discourse analysis, this paper provides a formal account of wanyi as a context-sensitive risk management strategy. It contributes to research on Chinese conditionality, strategic communication, and modal modulation, offering broader implications for cross-linguistic pragmatics and the study of epistemic stance.
本研究考察了汉语条件句中假设连词“如果/万一”的信息功能及其博弈论优化。万义作为条件标记，提出了低概率但认知上合理的情景，扩大了条件空间，调节了概率推理和信息熵，从而增加了认知不确定性。利用香农熵（1948）和信号博弈模型（Lewis, 1969; Van Rooy, 2004），分析表明，万一作为最优信号传递者，扩大不确定性以揭示边际风险，从而在不对称或高风险互动中产生警惕性并实现适应性决策。通过软化言外之力和避免直言不讳的承诺，它促进了合作，减少了威胁面子的可能性。在语用上，“万一”不同于“如果”等标记语，它的功能不仅是暗示假设，还能表达说话者的焦虑，间接试探听者，降低威胁，并将声誉风险降至最低。然而，它在高概率、积极导向、时间关键或精确驱动的语境中表现出不足，突出了其上下文敏感的语用性。本文结合信息论、博弈论语用学和细粒度语篇分析，对万意作为一种情境敏感的风险管理策略进行了形式化解释。这对汉语条件、策略交际和情态调节性的研究具有重要意义，对跨语言语用学和认知立场研究具有重要意义。
{"title":"Wanyi as a strategic risk marker in Chinese conditionals: An information game-theoretic analysis","authors":"Chenxiao Ma, Yong Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pragma.2025.12.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the informational function and game-theoretic optimization of the Chinese hypothetical conjunction <em>wanyi</em> (“what if/in case”) in conditionals. As a conditional marker, <em>wanyi</em> raises low-probability but cognitively reasonable scenarios, expanding the conditional space, modulating probabilistic reasoning and informational entropy, and then increasing epistemic uncertainty. Drawing on Shannon's entropy (1948) and models of signaling games (Lewis, 1969; Van Rooy, 2004), the analysis demonstrates that <em>wanyi</em> acts as an optimal signaler, expanding uncertainty to reveal marginal risks, thus creating vigilance and enabling adaptive decision-making in asymmetric or high-stakes interactions. By softening illocutionary force and avoiding outspoken commitment, it prompts cooperation and reduces face-threatening potential. Pragmatically, <em>wanyi</em> diverges from markers like <em>ruguo</em> (“if”), functioning not only to signal hypotheses but also to express speakers' anxiety, probe hearers indirectly, lower threats, and minimize reputational risk. However, it shows inadequacy in high-probability, positive-oriented, time-critical, or precision-driven contexts, highlighting its context-sensitive pragmatics. By integrating information theory, game-theoretic pragmatics, and fine-grained discourse analysis, this paper provides a formal account of <em>wanyi</em> as a context-sensitive risk management strategy. It contributes to research on Chinese conditionality, strategic communication, and modal modulation, offering broader implications for cross-linguistic pragmatics and the study of epistemic stance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16899,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pragmatics","volume":"254 ","pages":"Pages 45-63"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146024640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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