Journal | JoLMA
Journal issue | 5 | 2 | 2024
Research Article | Quoting Nothing
Quoting Nothing
Abstract
This paper argues that the practice of employing bare pairs of quotation marks to represent the empty string in formal linguistics and computer science is well-founded in the implicit conventions governing the use of quotation marks in natural language. In the framework of the Inscriptional Theory of Quotation (ITQ), it is argued that sentences containing empty quotation (i.e., empty quotational sentences) are grammatical and meaningful. Furthermore, the notion of an empty string is employed in the analysis of reported speech to provide a unified account that identifies mixed quotation as the primary form of reported speech.
Submitted: July 25, 2024 | Accepted: Nov. 8, 2024 | Published Dec. 11, 2024 | Language: en
Keywords Empty string • Empty quotation • Mixed quotation • Ostensive definition • Reported speech
Copyright © 2024 Luigi Pavone. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Jolma/2723-9640/2024/03/004
