Table of Contents
Forceville & Clark (2014) Can Pictures Have Explicatures?
| Citation | Forceville, C., Clark, B. (2014). Can Pictures Have Explicatures?. Linguagem em (Dis)curso, 14(3), 451–472. | URL |
|---|
Abstract
This paper considers the question of whether pictures can be understood to give rise to explicit meanings. In relevance-theoretic terms, this means asking whether pictures give rise to “explicatures”. The definition of the term “explicature” seems to rule out this possibility except in cases where pictures include or are accompanied by material with coded meanings. The paper considers a range of non-verbal phenomena with coded meanings, including pictograms. It then considers whether the explicature-implicature distinction could be relevant to pictures without such elements. Some assumptions communicated by pictures seem to be more “explicature-like” than others, so it is possible that the distinction will be useful. The question is not merely terminological as the discussion leads to a fuller understanding of ways in which pictures communicate.
Key ideas
Explicatures are communicated assumptions recovered on the basis of pragmatic inference fleshing out encoded meanings. (Forceville & Clark, 2014, p.452)
Notes
1. Introduction
There is still considerable work to be done in developing a systematic account of how pictures are understood. p.451
In this paper we discuss one element which will contribute to this account, namely the question of whether ostensive pictures (understood as images created with the intention to communicate) can be said to have explicit meaning … this amounts to asking whether pictures can be said to give rise to explicatures. p.451
We believe that it is worth asking whether pictures can have explicatures for three reasons. p.452
- First, there are encoded meanings which are not linguistic, including coded elements of nonverbal communication and coded pictorial meanings such as the 'pictograms';
- Second, some of the other ways in which pictures convey meanings seem to be closer to explicatures than others;
- Finally, we think that exploring this question will make a significant contribution to understanding how ostensive pictures are produced and understood.
2. Explicatures and implicatures
Explicatures
Degrees of explicitness
Higher-level explicatures
Implications and implicatures
Stronger and weaker explicatures and implicatures
Are there non-linguistic explicatures?
3. Nonverbal and pictorial codes
Nonverbal codes
Pictorial codes
Coded elements accompanying ostensive pictures
4. Pictures
Potential evidence for explicatures in ostensive pictures
Further examples
So are there pictorial explicatures?
5. Conclusions
Tables and figures
Figure 1 ~ p.461
Figure 2 ~ p.461
Figure 3 ~ p.461
Figure 4 ~ p.463
Figure 5 ~ p.466
Figure 6 ~ p.468
