PRESUPPOSITIONS AS A COGNITIVE-PRAGMATIC MECHANISM FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF SEMANTIC DEVIATIONS IN THE LITERARY TEXT.
Keywords:
Opal By Amy Lowell You are ice and fire, The touch of you burns my hands like snow. You are cold and flame. You are the crimson of amaryllis, The silver of moon-touched magnolias. When I am with you, My heart is a frozen pond Gleaming with agitated torches.Abstract
The article investigates the role of presuppositions as a cognitive and
pragmatic mechanism which contributes to deciphering semantic deviations in
the literary text. Presuppositions are seen as implied knowledge embedded in
the structure of semantic deviations, stored in long-term memory as well as
which allows for the identification and contextual interpretation of semantic
deviations. The article displays that presuppositions contribute to the stylistic
and pragmatic effectiveness of the literary texts by attracting the reader’s
attention, guiding interpretation and fulfilling the author’s communication
intent. The study of presuppositions in decoding of semantic deviations is
particularly topical owing to the growing interest in cognitive-pragmatic
approaches to the literary text. Modern linguistics contends that meaning is not
determined merely by the linguistic structure of a text, but also by the
background knowledge, cognitive mechanisms and context it is being used in.
By unfolding how presuppositional knowledge shapes the decoding process of
semantic deviations, the article advances the understanding of meaning
formation for investigating the interplay between language, cognition and
communication.
