ABSTRACT
Although lexical theorists agree that a lexical entry provides a principled account of a literal rendering of meaning, theory types differ not only with respect to an appropriate formalism in which to represent this meaning, but also with respect to the way in which literalness itself is conceived. These two issues are intimately related; but in examining the latter of the two, one sees that differences typically turn on such issues as whether cognitive (descriptive) meaning is taken as an equivalent to literal meaning, on how narrowly cognitive meaning is conceived, on how sharply a line is drawn between semantic and pragmatic meaning, and on whether some aspects of pragmatic meaning are also constituents of literal meaning.
