Book contents
- The Language and Dynamics of Fiction
- Reviews
- The Language and Dynamics of Fiction
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- I Introduction
- Part I Records and Force
- 1 Fictional Records
- 2 Internal Records
- 3 Foreground and Background
- 4 Gricean Reasoning and Cooperation
- 5 Supporting Assumptions and Default Inferences
- 6 Fictive Force
- 7 Fiction and Assertion
- Part II Files and Roles
- References
- Index
1 - Fictional Records
from Part I - Records and Force
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2026
Book contents
- The Language and Dynamics of Fiction
- Reviews
- The Language and Dynamics of Fiction
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- I Introduction
- Part I Records and Force
- 1 Fictional Records
- 2 Internal Records
- 3 Foreground and Background
- 4 Gricean Reasoning and Cooperation
- 5 Supporting Assumptions and Default Inferences
- 6 Fictive Force
- 7 Fiction and Assertion
- Part II Files and Roles
- References
- Index
Summary
In this and the following chapters, I show how audiences engage with fictional stories by collecting information in fictional records comprising what they think the author has conveyed. A fictional record functions analogously to the common ground of an ordinary conversation. As the story unfolds, information is stored in the fictional record, which in turn serves to support interpretation of subsequent utterances. A fictional record includes information over and beyond what is made explicit by the author, and is distinct from what is fictionally true. I begin this chapter by explaining the motivations for the distinction between fictional records and what is true in a fiction.
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- The Language and Dynamics of Fiction , pp. 15 - 32Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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