Scorekeeping in an Uncertain Language Game

Received views of utterance context in pragmatic theory characterize the occurrent subjective states of interlocutors using notions like common knowledge or mutual belief. We argue that these views are not compatible with the uncertainty and robustness of context-dependence in human–human dialogue. We present an alternative characterization of utterance context as objective and normative. This view reconciles the need for uncertainty with received intuitions about coordination and meaning in context, and can directly inform computational approaches to dialogue.