Discourse, Structure and Linguistic Choice

de T. Price Caldwell, Oliver Cresswell, Robert J. Stainton

This volume presents eight nearly completed papers and a draft monograph on topics in linguistics and philosophy of language by T. Price Caldwell. In his early career, he wrote short fiction and poetry, and taught English literature. The relevance for these subjects of certain areas within linguistics and philosophy of language increasingly caught his interest. This book presents the unfinished fruits of his work. Two of the papers included here are abstract and theoretical, focusing on linguistic methodology and Caldwell's overarching views on meaning-in-context. His position here, which he labeled Molecular Sememics, echoes early Structuralism and Functionalism. Two other papers apply the method and theory to topics within semantics and pragmatics, including especially the structuring of discourse. The remaining four papers connect Caldwell's insights about ordinary language meaning and use to his life-long interests in fiction and pedagogy. Also included is a monograph which Caldwell was unable to finish, which attempts to tie together the theory and the applications.