Indexicality, Quotation & the 18th Century

NovelMichael Johnson

Hong Kong University

Outline

1. The Varieties of Q-Mark Functions2. Context-Sensitive Expressions in Reported Speech3. The Monster Approach4. Q-Marks and the 18th Century Novel5. The Punctuation Theory of Quotation6. Indexical Resolution7. Conclusion

1. The Varieties of Q-Mark Functions

1. More so than most words, “as” can be translated to Spanish in many ways. [pure quotes]

2. O’Keefe has now put out a music video, complete with “dancing” and “singing.” [scare quotes]

3. Bad, hurtful, “just get over it Amar!” jokes aside, it's clear that these two small market franchises have plenty of old and new connections that tie us together. [modifier quotes]

4. As X notes in the comments, it's not fake as in “created by photoshop”, but it IS fake in the sense of being added as an ironic joke by a company known for such things. [meaning quotes]

Greengrocer’s Quotes

Q-Marks

• There is a great need for extra-linguistic marks to indicate a variety of things. • However, there is a paucity of such marks.• Inverted double-commas are frequently pressed into this wide variety

of services, which have little to do with each other.• Let’s call these inverted double-commas Q-Marks, to distinguish them

from their function, which is only sometimes quotation.

A Brief History of Q-Marks

Ancient Greek editors used a symbol called the diple to mark out interesting passages, the way we use underlining or highlighting:

Not for Mortals

In Luther’s translation of the bible, quotation marks appear around passages of the old testament that re-appear in the new testament, and around words that Jesus spoke– but not around words that anyone else speaks.

“Quotation quintessentially pertained to the scriptures… it was not for the speech of ordinary mortals” --Finnegan

Commonplace/ Copypasta Markers

“Commonplace markers, which were used from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, are punctuation marks that indicate a passage is worth copying: these were sometimes included by the author, translator, or printer, and could also be added by readers…

“As their name implies, commonplace markers point out commonplaces (sometimes called sententiae): words of wisdom or well-phrased ideas. These maxims are generally short enough to be easily memorized or quickly jotted into a personal miscellany or commonplace book.” --Estil

Today’s Topic

I’m interested in the semantics, or lack thereof, of Q-Marks used for quotation of reported speech, mortal or otherwise.

I’ll return to the history in a moment.

2. Context-Sensitive Expressions in Reported Speech

Context-Sensitive Expressions

-- “Jeter Takes Advantage, So Does the American League,” Tyler Kepner, NY Times, July 16, 2014.

After beginning with a serious assessment of Wainwright’s pitches, Jeter pivoted suddenly. “I don’t know, man,” he said, to laughter.

What Does ‘I’ Refer To?

-- “Jeter Takes Advantage, So Does the American League,” Tyler Kepner, NY Times, July 16, 2014.

After beginning with a serious assessment of Wainwright’s pitches, Jeter pivoted suddenly. “I don’t know, man,” he said, to laughter.

One Possible Thesis

Q-Marks in reported speech are just like pure quotes: the words occurring within them are not used but rather merely mentioned.

The ‘I’ that Kepner wrote does not refer to Jeter; it refers to the word ‘I.’ Kepner is telling you that Jeter used the word ‘I.’

Evidence That Words Are Used in QuotesFirst Piece: if these quotes are merely mentioned, we predict semantic impossibilities where there are none, and readings that don’t exist:

Quine said that quotation “… has a certain anomalous feature.”*

He described the 2-iron as being “very important and instrumental in my success here.”

Second Piece of Evidence

More Evidence: Anaphora

The Stanley Cup Final hasn't ended in a sweep since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings did it against the Washington Capitals. “Nothing is done, nothing is finished,” Quick said. “We still have a lot of work to do.” Not as much as they would have had if Quick didn't come through with a vintage performance.-- “Kings blank Rangers, move within one win of Cup,” Dan Rosen, nhl.com June 10, 2014.

More Evidence: Anaphora

The Stanley Cup Final hasn't ended in a sweep since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings did it against the Washington Capitals. “Nothing is done, nothing is finished,” Quick said. “We still have a lot of work to do.” Not as much as they would have had if Quick didn't come through with a vintage performance.-- “Kings blank Rangers, move within one win of Cup,” Dan Rosen, nhl.com June 10, 2014.

More Evidence: Anaphora

The Stanley Cup Final hasn't ended in a sweep since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings did it against the Washington Capitals. “Nothing is done, nothing is finished,” Quick said. “We still have a lot of work to do.” Not as much as they would have had if Quick didn't come through with a vintage performance.-- “Kings blank Rangers, move within one win of Cup,” Dan Rosen, nhl.com June 10, 2014.

More Evidence: Anaphora

The Stanley Cup Final hasn't ended in a sweep since 1998, when the Detroit Red Wings did it against the Washington Capitals. “Nothing is done, nothing is finished,” Quick said. “We still have a lot of work to do.” Not as much as they would have had if Quick didn't come through with a vintage performance.-- “Kings blank Rangers, move within one win of Cup,” Dan Rosen, nhl.com June 10, 2014.

3. The Monster Approach

The Monster Approach

Q-Marks in reported speech are, or articulate, context-shifting operators.

⟦ Jeter said “I don’t know” ⟧C =

There is some context C*, such that in C* Jeter said I don’t know ⟦ ⟧C*

For the Back of Your Mind

Notice that the monster approach says that the truth-conditions of

Jeter said “I don’t know.”

have nothing to do with the words Jeter used.

Monsters

A Point about Kaplanian Monsters

Kaplan’s argument against the existence of monsters was simply that there weren’t any.

He didn’t think quotation counted because he thought it involved pure mention.

Kaplan on Quotation

“There is a way to control an indexical, to keep it from taking primary scope, and even to refer it to another context (this amounts to changing its character). Use quotation marks. If we mention the indexical rather than use it we can, of course, operate directly on it.”

I’m going to argue that the monster approach is wrong, and present an alternative theory of quotation and the resolution of context-sensitive expressions therein.

4. Q-Marks & the 18th C. Novel

History Cont’d

In the 16th and 17th Centuries, Q-Marks performing the functions of commonplaces and quotation existed alongside one another.

But there was no standard. Some authors (editors/ printers/ etc.) used no Q-Marks; some used only commonplaces or only quotations; in some texts, identical marks appear at different places with different functions.

The Rise of the Novel

But with the rise of the novel in the 18th Century, things began to change.

In the novel it is necessary to clearly and frequently mark out when direct speech begins and ends. Q-marks became solely for and obligatorily for quotation.

Tom Jones, Vol. I p. 264

Tom Jones, Vol. I p. 264

The Monster Account, Ham-handedly Applied

⟦ Jones said “he feared it was too late” ⟧C =

There is some context C*, such that in C* Jones said he feared it was too late ⟦ ⟧C*

The “Past is Past” Objection

Yes, no theory of the semantics of present-day Q-Marks has to cover these cases.

BUT, there’s no reason to think we are special. If a theory of the semantics of present-day Q-Marks is desirable, then so is a theory of the semantics of 18th Century Q-Marks.

AND if a satisfying theory could be had of both, that would be preferable, given their historical relatedness.

More about the Phenomenon

1. Q-Marks always appear around direct forms (e.g. ‘I’ used to refer to the reported speaker).

2. Q-Marks sometimes appear around indirect forms.

More about the Phenomenon

3. Quoted and unquoted indirect forms appear right next to one another, so it appears that the quotation marks are doing something.

More about the Phenomenon

4. Mixed quotation is available and used, so nothing prevents authors from removing indirect forms from within Q-Marks

More about the Phenomenon

5. Devices of unquotation (brackets) are available, so nothing prevents authors from unquoting indirect forms inside Q-Marks.

More about the Phenomenon

6. The non-context-sensitive words inside quote marks seem to belong to the reported speaker.

More about the Phenomenon

7. Often, the indirect forms inside Q-Marks are required by the grammar.

5. The Punctuation Theory of Quotation

PTQ from Johnson 2011

• Q-Marks in reported speech are punctuation marks. • They don’t articulate any part of the language, and as such they have

no semantic value and affect no semantic values.• There are rules for using them, however, just as there are rules for

using commas. • In this case, the rule is to put them around and only around the exact

words the reported speaker used.

The Mechanics

Imagine for the moment that we live in a society where everyone obeys the following rule:

For all x, x wears a pink and white polka-dotted hat when and only when it’s x’s birthday.

1. For all x, x wears a pink and white polka-dotted hat when and only when it’s x’s birthday. [Common knowledge]2. Therefore, Remz wears a pink and white polka-dotted hat when and only when it’s Remz’ birthday. [1, universal elimination]3. Remz is wearing a pink and white polka-dotted hat.

[Observation]4. Therefore, it’s Remz’ birthday. [2, 3, biconditional elimination]

1. For all writers W, reported speakers S, and reported speech of that speaker R, W puts R in quotes when and only when W believes S used the exact words R [Common knowledge]2. Therefore, Kepner puts the reported speech of Jeter “I don’t know” in quotes when and only when Kepner believes Jeter used the exact words “I don’t know.” [1, universal elimination]3. Kepner put the reported speech of Jeter in quotes.

[Observation]4. Therefore, Kepner believes Jeter said the exact words “I don’t know.”

[2, 3, biconditional elimination]

Virtues of the Approach

Words in quotes are still used and not mentioned, contra Kaplan.

Nevertheless, PTQ explains how we can infer what words the reported speaker used from a quotation, something the monster approach, we noted, cannot do.

Horse PTQ

• For the most part, nothing changes from Rabbit PTQ.• Quotation marks are still punctuation marks.• The rule is still to put them around and only around the exact words

the reported speaker used…EXCEPT!

• There is a conventional list of exceptions to verbatim reports that are still allowed to go inside quotation marks.

EXCEPT!

• Translations: Nietzsche said, “God is dead!”

• Expletives: “I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’” he recalled shouting, using his own expletive. (NY Times, June 27, 2014)

• Fillers, dialect forms, false starts, repetitions, errors…

From the Canadian Press Stylebook

“We correct slips of grammar that are obvious slips and that would be needlessly embarrassing. We remove verbal mannerisms such as ‘ahs’, routine vulgarities and meaningless repetitions. Otherwise we do not revise quotations”

Horse PTQ

Fielding obeyed the same exact punctuating rule we obey today, it’s just that his list of exceptions contained one thing ours didn’t.

Put Q-Marks around and only around the exact words the reported speaker used EXCEPT… If style or grammar demands indirect forms, indirect forms may be substituted for the direct forms in quotes.

Markedness & Faithfulness

We can view the historical trajectory of quotation marks as a story about how certain forms have become more or less marked over time.

Quotation obviously aims to be faithful to the reported speaker.

Markedness & Faithfulness

But being faithful to the style, grammar, and language of the reported speaker can sometimes involve marked forms– ungrammatical constructions, non-English words, taboo vocabulary, etc.

At different points in our history, we’ve fluctuated on which bits of language are too marked to even appear within quote marks.

But what about those pesky context-sensitive expressions?

6. Indexical Resolution

Character vs. Content

Character: a rule for determining the content of a context-sensitive expression (e.g. its referent). A function from contexts to contents.

Content: the contribution that an occurrence of an expression makes to the proposition expressed by the sentence containing it.

True Demonstratives Pure Indexicals

Referent depends mostly on speaker’s demonstrations &

intentions

Referent more or less completely independent of speaker’s

demonstrations & intentions

“that,” “she,” “then,” “yea” “I,” “today,” “now” [?], “here” [?]

Kaplan on the Character of “I”

“The speaker refers to himself when he uses ‘I’, and no pointing to another or believing that he is another or intending to refer to another can defeat this reference.”

[“Demonstratives” p. 491]

Kaplan on the Character of “I”

In any context C, “I” refers to the agent of C– the speaker or writer of the relevant occurrence of “I” in C.

[distilled]

Perspectives vs. Contexts

• When you speak you do so in a context, one that you can’t be shifted out of with a semantic operator.• This is what’s wrong with the monster account of quotation.• But you can, from within your context, take the perspective of

someone else.• This is what’s wrong with Kaplan’s account of the character of “I”.

A New Proposal for the Character of “I”

In any context C, “I” refers to the individual whose perspective the agent of C intends to be taking.

Usually this is just that agent’s own perspective, and thus “I” refers to that agent.

The Historical Present

He took me by the wrist and held me hard;Then goes he to the length of all his arm;And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,He falls to such perusal of my faceAs he would draw it.

Open Quotation

Stop that John! “Nobody likes me”, “I am miserable”... Don't you think you exaggerate a bit?

From Recanati, “Open Quotation”

Open Quotation

Maher is asked why Judd Gregg (R) accepted a position in Obama’s cabinet and then decided subsequently to turn it down.]

Maher: Well, because it’s a big Washington job. I think it probably was a pay increase and a status increase and I'm in the Cabinet. And then I guess his Republican friends got to him -- you know, like the mob.

Vs. “Referring to a Different Context”

The Spurs knew their defense had to be better… They held Miami to 35 percent in the first half. “They played great and I can honestly say I don't think any of us were expecting this type of performance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Vs. “Referring to a Different Context”

The Spurs knew their defense had to be better… They held Miami to 35 percent in the first half. “They played great and I can honestly say I don't think any of us were expecting this type of performance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Vs. “Referring to a Different Context”

The Spurs knew their defense had to be better… They held Miami to 35 percent in the first half. “They played great and I can honestly say I don't think any of us were expecting this type of performance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Vs. “Referring to a Different Context”

The Spurs knew their defense had to be better… They held Miami to 35 percent in the first half. “They played great and I can honestly say I don't think any of us were expecting this type of performance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Vs. “Referring to a Different Context”

The Spurs knew their defense had to be better… They held Miami to 35 percent in the first half. “They played great and I can honestly say I don't think any of us were expecting this type of performance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

When we quote in speech reports, we don’t mention the quoted words, we use them– including the context sensitive elements.

These are new uses and they don’t piggy-back on the earlier ones. The objects and events they refer to must be available in our current context.

7. Conclusion

Contentious Theses Here Defended

• Q-Marks are used for a wide variety of distinct functions, which shouldn’t be run together.• In direct and mixed quotation, Q-marks have the function of marking

out the exact words of the reported speaker…• EXCEPT for alterations that are conventionally deemed necessary to

avoid certain marked forms.• These Q-Marks have no semantic function. They are extra-linguistic.

Contentious Theses Here Defended

• In reported speech, quoted material is used and not mentioned.• In direct reports, pure indexical expressions do not have Kaplanian

characters with shifted contexts (the monster account is false).• Instead, they have characters that invoke salient or demonstrated

perspectives (which are not contexts). • The contemporary practice of quotation in reported speech aids but is

not required for making salient the adoption of a distinct perspective.

The End