Inclusion, presupposition, and pragmatic markers

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of pragmatic markers (PMs) derived from the Italian verbs of visual perception guardare ‘look’ and vedere ‘see’ in contemporary parliamentary debates. Drawing on data from the ParlaMint 2.1 corpus, it analyses PMs role in stance-taking, inclusive positioning, and persuasion. More specifically, it argues that these markers are best understood through the lens of pragmatic presupposition as they help manage felicity conditions and common ground by framing contents as shared, accessible, or readily accommodable. Guardare typically prompts active engagement and frames upcoming discourse as interactionally relevant. Vedere , by contrast, more often presents ideologically loaded content as self-evident, thereby softening potentially risky moves such as attacks or self-praise. These differences reflect the lexical semantics and actional profiles of the two verbs, and show how perception-based PMs can be strategically exploited for rhetorical purposes in institutional discourse.