T.J.C. van der Leer (Thomas) MA

My research focuses on the pragmatics of communication. More specifically, I am interested in the idea that the speech acts performed in a conversation introduce commitments (i.e. social obligations) for the discourse participants. The goal of my project is to investigate the ways in which the addressee can undertake commitments or, framed differently, the responsibility the addressee carries for the speaker's actions. By evaluating formal theories of discourse with the use of experimental data, I aim to contribute to a better understanding of this social dimension of language.