A cognitive approach to inferencing in conversation

Discourse analysts using a speech-act theoretic or Gricean approach to conversation assume that the identification of the communicative intention of linguistic acts requires inferencing on the part of the hearer. However, this theoretical approach does not satisfactorily account for the fact that conversational participants usually draw the inferences necessary to arrive at intended interpretations without any noticeable effort. Furthermore, it does not systematically specify the kinds of inference patterns that are needed for utterance interpretation. We show that a cognitive approach incorporating the notion of scenario structure can be fruitfully applied to the analysis of conversation. We argue that within in this framework it is necessary to distinguish between ‘stand for’ relations (i.e. metonymic relationships proper) and weaker ‘point to’ relations (i.e. indexical relationships). Conceptual relationships such as part-whole, cause-effect, ability-action, etc., have metonymic and indexical function and facilitate the inferential work of conversational interactants. These general relationships within scenario structure thus constitute natural inference schemata.