Calling things by their names: Towards a unified account for name-informing and mixed quotation

Holden Härtl


Abstract
This paper explores the semantic connection between mixed quotation and name-informing quotation, proposing a unified account for both. While mixed quotation combines direct quotation with indirect reporting, name-informing quotation highlights the linguistic shape of a concept’s conventionalized name. We argue that both types of quotation involve a naming predicate – explicit in name-informing quotation and covert in mixed quotation. A pilot questionnaire study, which presented participants with two-turn dialogue contexts, used the notion of at-issueness to probe the naming component across these types, supporting the hypothesis that both share a similar semantic structure. This unified approach contributes to a broader understanding of quotational constructions and their role in linguistic and discourse representation.
Anthology ID:
2025.dnd-16.6
Volume:
Dialogue Discourse Volume 16
Month:
December
Year:
2025
Address:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Editors:
Amir Zeldes, Manfred Stede, Patrick G.T. Healey, and Hendrik Buschmeier
Venue:
DND
SIG:
SIGDIAL
Publisher:
University of Illinois Chicago
Note:
Pages:
111–124
Language:
URL:
https://aclanthology.org/2025.dnd-16.6/
DOI:
10.5210/dad.2025.204
Bibkey:
Cite (ACL):
Holden Härtl. 2025. Calling things by their names: Towards a unified account for name-informing and mixed quotation. Dialogue & Discourse, 16:111–124.
Cite (Informal):
Calling things by their names: Towards a unified account for name-informing and mixed quotation (Härtl, DND 2025)
Copy Citation:
PDF:
https://aclanthology.org/2025.dnd-16.6.pdf