An expression like "Just saying" has a pragmatics (intended social effect) that is the opposite of its semantics (what it literally means). These are at the focus of one of our research projects. If you know more examples of such expressions in English, please share them with us.
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"fat chance" which is one of my favourites
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Although I'm not 100% sure if I understood the social effect idea. Hmm. Maybe I'm doing ones where the semantics and pragmatics diverge as opposed to the social meaning?
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Unfortunately, pragmatics is interpreted differently by different scholars. But what I'm after is what people call the "speech act" (Searle), the "social action" (Conversation Analysis) or the "illocution" (Linguists). 1/2
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So if you tell me you are going to do something really dangerous, and I say "Are you NUTS?" I'm asking a yes/no question (semantically) but what I'm actually "doing" is letting you know that I disapprove of your choice (pragmatically). 2/2
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So does "fat chance" work? I still can't tell.
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Fat chance implies there is a large chance something will happen. But you actually mean it’s very unlikely. Usually followed by a scoff. (For non-Americans). I don’t know if it counts!
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Yes, "fat chance" is identical to "thin chance". In fact, they are used interchangeably.
End of conversation
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