Missing Linguistics§2.1Priority #11

Pragmatics

Framework Established

The Gap

No theory of why things are said, speech acts, implicature, presupposition, or politeness.

Why It Matters

The test artifact WORKS through pragmatics — it creates conditions where the LLM implicitly shifts mode. Pragmatics is not a feature that can be added later — it changes the architecture.

Resolution

Context-dependence modeled via gauge connection. Full pragmatic theory (speech acts, implicature, Gricean maxims) requires agent + goal structure beyond gauge framework.

Expedition Status

Expedition:
Expedition One
Front:
Front A
Status:
FRAMEWORK (partial)
Source:
frontier/expedition-one/gauge-bundle-of-meaning.md
Impact
critical
Tractability
low
Effort
very-high
Category
linguistics

This Gap Blocks

  • Why the test artifact works

Related Problems

Contribute to This Problem

Interested in working on this research gap? Here's how you can help:

  • Propose a solution — Share your approach in a GitHub discussion or issue
  • Submit a proof sketch — Even partial progress helps advance the field
  • Identify connections — Link this problem to existing mathematical results
Pragmatics — The Cosmic Codex