adekvaatse

Adekvaatse is a fictional term in pragmatics and computational linguistics used in thought experiments to analyze how interlocutors preserve communicative adequacy when literal utterances diverge from intended meaning. It is discussed as a lens for understanding how people and machines handle imperfect signals in conversation.

Origin and scope: The term is not found in established linguistic literature; it was created for didactic and speculative purposes to explore the interaction of signal content, shared expectations, and inference in noisy or ambiguous communication. As a concept, adekvaatse is meant to illustrate processes rather than describe a natural phenomenon.

Core idea: Adekvaatse describes a state in which communicative success is achieved through alignment of expectations and robust interpretation, even if signals are imperfect. The model is often described as having three dimensions: signal adequacy (how well the form encodes the intended meaning), expectation alignment (the extent of shared context and assumptions), and inferential resilience (the ability to infer intended meaning from partial or ambiguous cues).

Applications: In theory, adekvaatse is used to reason about cross-cultural communication, error-tolerant conversational interfaces, and evaluation metrics for natural language processing systems operating under noise or ambiguity. It serves as a framework for discussing how systems and people can maintain mutual understanding despite imperfect signals.

Example: In a group setting, someone says "That’s fine." An adekvaatse analysis would examine how different listeners infer whether this means consent, approval, or a request to proceed, based on context and prior interactions.

Reception: As a fictional construct, adekvaatse has limited empirical support and is primarily employed in teaching, speculative discussions, or to illustrate challenges in achieving adequacy in language. It relates to pragmatic inference and robust communication, while remaining distinct from established theories in everyday use.