Abstract
This paper is an attempt to handle pragmatic complexity within the framework of Natural Linguistics. Specifically it aims at building two naturalness scales of the complexity of pragmatic inferences based on the naturalness parameters of trans-parency–opacity and of biuniqueness–ambiguity, illustrated mainly with French examples. The scales are complementary: transparency–opacity deals with hierarchized meanings, biuniqueness–ambiguity with exclusive alternative meanings. Pragmatic complexity is intended here as a function of the number and types of inferences or inferential steps included in the description of an utterance meaning. It is defined quantitatively and qualitatively and converges with cognitive complexity. The scales distinguish phenomena that are to varying degrees opaque or ambiguous (indirect, elliptic or non-literal) according to whether there is flouting or violation of a Gricean maxim and how this takes place. The number of cotextual and/or contextual dimensions as well as variable cog-nitive operations, modes of reasoning and meaning relations are taken as measures of pragmatic complexity. The paper also discusses the relation between complexity and markedness. This issue reveals a conflict between the perspectives of speaker and hearer.
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