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Since #JohnsonMustGo is trending, let's have a quick look at the texts in question. The uproar currently surrounds "I will fix it" and media outlets are (unsurprisingly) inferring from this that Johnson will change ("fix") policy ("it") to suit Dyson. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56819137
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In reality, "fix" is semantically ambiguous. It could mean many things, not necessarily in Dyson's favour.
And "it" is pragmatically ambiguous anaphoric deixis. It could refer back to the specific problem, the whole policy, or something else entirely.
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And "it" is pragmatically ambiguous anaphoric deixis. It could refer back to the specific problem, the whole policy, or something else entirely.
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The issue is that we don't have enough of Dyson's preceding texts to make a more certain inference of the "it" in question, and therefore the kind of "fix" that's being discussed. As with so much of language, meaning is created dynamically. It's not inherent in the words.
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For the record I think the common inference of Johnson's text is entirely reasonable, but it's always worth being aware that other interpretations are not only possible. They could, with more context, actually make far more sense than the current prevailing inference.
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