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In:Patterns of Context: Modelling cultural and contextual influence in utterance interpretation
Edited by Elke Diedrichsen and Frank Liedtke
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 356] 2026
► pp. 245–274

The same message in two different situations?

The case of capacity restriction signs, compared to waste managing messages

 | Sorbonne University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Messages about occupancy restrictions appear in contexts that essentially present the same situational features. However, at a different level, these situations are either normal or rigid, or unusual in some respect. Taking this into account, we define these situations as related. Messages referring to these situations display the same core information in terms of semantic schemes. However, the specific expressions used vary according to whether the sender perceives the situation as normal and predictable or not. The sender can then choose between two discourse genres: technical or non-technical. In this study, we demonstrate this adaptable message-situation pairing through the analysis of occupancy restriction messages in lifts and Parisian cafés during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Starting point
    • 1.2Generalities about small-format writings
    • 1.3Shared knowledge
    • 1.4The Bühlerian approach
    • 1.5Data and methods
    • 1.6The approach of this study
    • 1.7The hypothesis and plan
  • 2.Lifts
    • 2.1Examples of signs in lifts
    • 2.2Linguistic analysis of the plaques
    • 2.3Enunciative and generic analysis
    • 2.4Message — situation pairing
    • 2.5Intermediate summary of messages in lifts
  • 3.Covid restricted access messages in front of bars, cafés and restaurants
    • 3.1Examples of restricted access messages due to Covid
    • 3.2Linguistic analysis of Covid restricted access messages
    • 3.3Enunciative and generic analysis
    • 3.4Message — situation pairing
    • 3.5Intermediate summary of Covid restricted access messages
  • 4.Discussion and comparison with another regulatory discourse
    • 4.1Characteristics of access restriction messages
    • 4.2Characteristics of waste management messages
    • 4.3Common features
  • 5.Conclusions and outlook
  • Photo credits
  • Author queries
  • Notes
  • References
  • Sites
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