Building the common ground with demonstratives

Abstract The semantic value of a demonstrative in a given context is the object of joint attention shared by the participants in a conversation, which King refers to as the ‘coordinated object.’ This is at least the case when the speaker’s plan to align perspectives is successful. However, when there is a conflict between the intended reference and what is made manifest by a demonstration, either no coordinated object is established, or the semantic value is the demonstratum. This is King’s response to Kaplan’s Carnap/Agnew scenario. His explanation does not address how the reference to an object becomes part of the common ground. Reference selection always occurs against a doxastic background and results from the collaborative efforts of the agents involved in the conversation. I propose an amendment to King’s coordination account that more accurately reflects the collaborative nature of referring. However, it is uncertain whether this amendment results in a metasemantics for demonstratives. The introduction of a reference to an object in the common ground exhibits the distinctive features of pragmatic processes.