From imperfect agreement to disagreement : conceder (to concede)… mais (but)

Abstract

To concede firstly means “admitting/acknowledging” something based on a statement X from a source L1 other than the speaker L2 who concedes, the meaning of a proposition P included in X. But if L2 acknowledges P, he does not accept the conclusion expected by L1, because conceder (to concede) generally implies a mais (but). Concéder (to concede)… mais (but) then opens the way to a concessive sequence introducing a conclusion Q2, which is different from conclusion Q1 resulting from P (the one expected by L1). In a pragmatic, semantic approach we show how, whilst raising disagreement on a point with an interlocutor, to concede introduces a part agreement, then a second disagreement with the interlocutor. The logical relationship reflecting this second disagreement between Q2 and Q1 will differ depending on the corresponding type of concessive – logical, corrective or argumentative.