The Language and Dynamics of Fiction

This book explores how language shapes our engagement with fiction, from understanding characters to discussing stories. It delves into the unique ways we communicate about fictional worlds, showing how fiction-related talk is used in a variety of situations. Andreas Stokke explores the semantics and pragmatics of fiction-related language, focusing on how we use language to create and discuss fictional stories and characters. He argues that the linguistic tools used for fiction are the same as those for reality, yet fictional communication is distinct as it is unconstrained by real-world reference and allows for saying things without incurring factual commitments. He also shows how fictional names retain their meaning across many ways of using them. He then analyses the various ways in which we talk about fiction, including metafictional, interfictional, and counterfictional discourse.