Abstract
We often use language creatively, introducing new expressions on the fly. That we can successfully communicate with novel expressions without antecedent semantic knowledge has led many to a dynamic meaning hypothesis: namely, we can actively renegotiate extant semantic conventions to better suit our communicative, practical, and even normative concerns. We argue that this hypothesis is a mistake: meanings are non-negotiable, and so, lexical innovation cannot proceed by way of meaning-negotiation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Journal | Australasian Journal of Philosophy |
DOIs | |
State | Accepted/In press - 2024 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Philosophy
Keywords
- communication
- content
- ignorance and error
- lexical innovation
- meaning change
- metalinguistic negotiation