The preference for a regular assertion when directly asked about one's surprise shows that exclamatives are at most marked, indirect substitutes for emotive assertions, not regular assertions of attitudes.

The preference for a regular assertion when directly asked about one's surprise shows that exclamatives are at most marked, indirect substitutes for emotive assertions, not regular assertions of attitudes.

• Question–answer examples are nondiagnostic because an exclamative can demonstrate surprise and thereby indirectly convey relevant information, while an emotive assertion also accesses the relevant information only indirectly through its embedded content.
• Therefore, examples such as (3) do not discriminate between an attitude demonstration and an assertion of that attitude.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  examples such as (3) do not distinguish between the demonstration of an attitude and its assertion.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p4

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  examples such as (3) do not distinguish between the demonstration of an attitude and its assertion.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p4

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  examples such as (3) do not distinguish between the demonstration of an attitude and its assertion.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p4
• The emotive-assertion account likewise accesses information about performance indirectly, because performance quality is only embedded information under its assumed silent emotive predicate.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the quality of Eliud ’ s performance is merely an embedded piece of information.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p3

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the quality of Eliud ’ s performance is merely an embedded piece of information.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p3

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the quality of Eliud ’ s performance is merely an embedded piece of information.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p3
• Likewise, the answer in (2b) may be possible because an addressee's demonstration of surprise can let the questioner know which attitude the addressee has.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  by demonstrating surprise, the addressee can let the questioner know that he is surprised.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p5

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  by demonstrating surprise, the addressee can let the questioner know that he is surprised.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p5

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  by demonstrating surprise, the addressee can let the questioner know that he is surprised.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p5
• On the alternative analysis, exclamatives demonstrate attitudes toward states of affairs rather than assert corresponding attitudes.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  exclamatives convey demonstrations of attitudes toward a state of a ff airs instead of corresponding assertions.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p1

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  exclamatives convey demonstrations of attitudes toward a state of a ff airs instead of corresponding assertions.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p1

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  exclamatives convey demonstrations of attitudes toward a state of a ff airs instead of corresponding assertions.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p1
• The author's judgment is that answering by demonstration is marked and only felicitous when the question is understood relatively loosely, as with the how-question combined with think.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  answering by demonstration is a marked strategy that addresses the given question in an indirect way.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p6

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  answering by demonstration is a marked strategy that addresses the given question in an indirect way.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p6

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  answering by demonstration is a marked strategy that addresses the given question in an indirect way.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p6
• In the broad information-seeking question in (3), demonstrating surprise at Eliud's speed can indirectly inform the questioner about the quality of his performance.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the demonstration of surprise at Eliud ’ s speed is an indirect source for information about the quality of his performance.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p2

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the demonstration of surprise at Eliud ’ s speed is an indirect source for information about the quality of his performance.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p2

  Empirical and theoretical arguments against equating exclamatives and emotive assertions — Question–answer behavior does not establish assertive identity

  the demonstration of surprise at Eliud ’ s speed is an indirect source for information about the quality of his performance.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2001#unit-2-p2

These are challenges this argument’s reasoning pattern must still withstand. Answering them on Isonomia strengthens the argument.

• Are there other events or causes that could account for the presence of the sign?Open
• What is the strength of the correlation between the sign and the event/state it is taken to indicate?Open
• Has the sign actually been observed reliably in this case?Open

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