ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a trichotomous conception of the mention-dimension. It sets up the Quotational Principle to underlie the mention-dimension of quotation, which goes simply as follows: the expression within quotation marks is quoted. This principle reflects a fundamental quotational convention that indicates how a speaker may relate to a quoted expression. The chapter elaborates on the details of how the semantic content of quotation unfolds in the dimension of mention with a special emphasis on construing quotation as demonstration, while noting the influence of quotational conventions on how the speaker relates to quotation. Pragmatic convention works in the mention-dimension because it is where a speaker's behavior of employing the quotation at issue is governed by some rules. The chapter explores how conventions constrain the interpretation of quotation qua demonstration in the mention-dimension. It lays out two features of quotational usage and examines their implications for characterizing the speaker–quotation relationship by unraveling the quotational points that are truth-conditionally relevant.
