ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

Contextual explanation · NAV-G03-006

Use

This explanation addresses the term in its originating context. It is not an additional canonical Atlas profile.

Explanation

In an inferentialist setting, use means more than a word's occurrence. Relevant questions concern which conclusions an utterance licenses, what supports it and what would challenge it. A claim places an expression within a network of possible moves. This is a particular account of meaning, not an exhaustive description of language use. The entry makes its contribution visible: meaning can be investigated through what participants may do next with a claim and what commitments they undertake by making it.

Movement of thought

1. Locate an utterance in its interaction. 2. Identify possible supporting reasons. 3. Reconstruct licensed consequences. 4. Test contradictions and retractions. 5. Present the resulting account as a theoretical proposal.

Example

Someone claiming “All the keys are in the cupboard” must address a key found elsewhere or clarify the intended domain.

Counter-test

A word's frequency does not establish its relations to reasons and conclusions.

Scientific use case

Argument analysis can annotate claims, support and consequences separately, exposing contested inferential rules.

Effect

The approach illuminates meaning through participation in accountable practices.

Resonance

A statement does not end with its last word: it opens paths for what may be said next.

Distinction

Distinguish frequency, private intention and the unrestricted equation of meaning with any occurrence of use.

Sources