Research project We are frequently using language for lying to and misleading people, probably more often than we think (or want to admit). But even if we are good at lying and misleading, it is not always clear what exactly we are doing when lying and misleading with speech. My research project focusses on the distinction between lying, misleading and other kinds of related linguistic behaviour.
My research project focuses on the distinction between lying and misleading. I aim to answer the question "Which speech act is required for lying and misleading?". Does, for example, lying require that one says something false, or is it possible to lie in other ways? I will investigate different kinds of lying and misleading, discussing which speech act is the most appropriate one for defining the different linguistic behaviours. By singling out the required speech act for the respective kinds of lying and misleading, I aim to make the lying-misleading distinction clearer.
