Pragmatics and Emotion
Published on 19. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
182 pages
978-1-108-79903-4 (ISBN)
Description
It has long been received wisdom in semantics and pragmatics that 'the head' and 'the heart' are two opposing forces, a view that has led scholars, until now, to explore the mental processes behind cognition, and the mental processes behind emotion, as two separate entities. This bold, innovative book challenges this view, and provides an original study of how we communicate our emotions through language, drawing on both pragmatic theory and affective science. It begins with the assumption that emotional or expressive meaning plays such a central role in human interaction that any pragmatic theory worth its salt must account for it. It meets the associated challenges head-on and strives to integrate affect within one theory of utterance interpretation, showing that emotional meaning and rationality/reasoning can be analysed within one framework. Written in a clear and concise style, it is essential reading for anyone interested in communication and emotion.
Reviews / Votes
'Wharton and de Saussure's Pragmatics and Emotion is a stimulating read and provides much food for thought. They convincingly argue the centrality of emotions to human experience and to language usage, despite perennial neglect throughout the history of Western philosophy. Their modifications of Relevance Theory are no doubt a welcome contribution to the field, and this book will be of interest not only to those working in linguistic pragmatics, but also those with an interest in the philosophy of language, evolutionary psychology, and the cognitive sciences more broadly.' Richard J. Whitt, John Benjamins e-Platform 'Pragmatics and Emotion contributions are manifold. It will certainly foster the study of emotions across disciplines and is ideal for readers with an interest in the interaction of language and emotion, and anyone curious about how we produce and infer emotional meanings in interaction.' Eugenia Diegoli, Journal of LinguisticsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 160 mm
Width: 229 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
268 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-79903-4 (9781108799034)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Tim Wharton | Louis De Saussure
Pragmatics and Emotion
Book
12/2023
Cambridge University Press
€117.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Tim Wharton is a linguist based at the University of Brighton. His research explores territories beyond those regarded as the 'traditional' fields of linguists and as a result, he has worked with poets, artists, clinicians, designers and even mathematicians to expand the boundaries of linguistic pragmatics. Louis de Saussure is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland) where he co-founded the Cognitive Science Centre. He has published extensively in semantics, in pragmatics and in discourse analysis.
Content
1. Introduction: 1.1 Prolegomena; 1.2 Clocks and clouds; 1.3 Overview; 1.3.1 Chapter two; 1.3.2 Chapter three; 1.3.3 Chapter four; 1.3.4 Chapter five; 1.3.5 Chapter six; 1.3.6 Chapter seven; 1.3.7 Chapter eight. 2. Pragmatics and emotion - the challenges: 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Two challenges; 2.2.1 Description versus expression; 2.2.2 Propositions and ineffability; 2.3 Pragmatics. 3. What is emotion?: 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 The early history of emotion studies; 3.2.1 Aristotle to Hume; 3.2.2 Charles Darwin and William James; 3.3 Affective science; 3.3.1 Three views; 3.3.2 Basic emotion; 3.3.3 Constructed emotion; 3.3.4 The view from appraisal theory. 4. From proto-pragmatics to pragmatics: 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 Towards expressive meaning; 4.3 Bally's parole; 4.4 Speech acts: how to do things with words (and emotional expressions); 4.5 Alternatives. 5. Relevance theory, non-propositional content and ineffability: 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Relevance; 5.2.1 Theory; 5.2.2 Applications, concepts, procedures; 5.2.3 Ineffability; 5.3 Two notions of relevance? 6. Beyond propositions: 6.1 Introduction; 6.2 Affective effects; 6.2.1 Primary affective effects; 6.2.2 Secondary affective effects: emotion and poetry; 6.2.3 Affective effects and persuasion. 7. Emotion and evolution: 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Creature construction; 7.2.1 Pirot #1: the sea-sponge; 7.2.1 Towards a sensorium: the direct route; 7.2.3 Pirot #2: the lizard and emotion; 7.2.4 Humean projection: the indirect route. 8. Pragmatics and emotion - the challenges revisited: 8.1 Introduction; 8.2 Two challenges; 8.2.1 Expressing and describing; 8.2.2 Propositions and ineffability; 8.3 Pragmatics and emotion - closing remarks.