PragmaticsPragmatics and

Indirectness

Group 7

Alfiani Safitri 0902534Fira Nursya’bani 0906856

Ismy Fauziah Ainun 0902350Luciyana Dwiningrum 0902428

Measuring Indirectness

Degree of Indirectness

DirectDirect

Unmodified Unmodified Imperative Imperative

(Total Proportional

Transparency)

Highly Highly ConventionalizeConventionalize

d Polite d Polite Request FormRequest Form

Examples:

• Direct:

‘Stand ! ’

• Unmodified Imperative:

‘Would you like to stand’

• Highly conventionalized polite request form:

‘I think we would sing better if we stood’

I don’t respect you and I couldn’t

marry a man I don’t respect

I could never marry a clergyman

I refuse to marry a complete buffoon!

Directly Expresses Conclusion

Logically ImpliesConclusion

Directly Pragmatically ExpressesConclusion

Indirectly Pragmatically ExpressesConclusion

No, I won’t marry you!

The role of context in interpreting indirectness

Mr. Collins is not totally irrational

“It is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for

their favour ”

The role of belief in interpreting indirectness

“Elizabeth will not marry a complete buffoon;

I am not a complete buffoon;Therefore Elizabeth will marry me”

Expresses Mr. Collins’s hubris, stupidity and crass

insensitivity

Background Knowledge and Interpreting Indirectness

..One person is able to retrieveretrieve from memory, another may have to constructconstruct..

ex. a: What’s the difference between Oxford University and Jurrasic Park? b: One’s a theme park inhabited by dinosaurs, the other’s a film by Stephen Spielberg.

..You need to be familiar with a particular elements of background knowledge..

The Role of Co-Text and Interpreting Indirectness

Adjacency Pairs (Schegloff and Sacks)..Consecutive, Contingently related utterances

produced by two different speakers..-- First Pair Part-- Second Pair Part

ex. a: I’d like to go to walking on Saturday if it’s fine.b: It’s Lenin birthdaya: It’s my niece’s birthday. And Shakespeare’s birthday

Goals and the Interpretation of Indirectness

Leech:Initial State

Action 1 Intermediate State

Action 2 Final State

S feels cold S says: “Switch on

the heater”

H understands that S wants the heater

on

H Switches on heater

S feels warmer

Initial State

Action 1

Intermediate State

1

Intermediate State

2

Action 2

Final State

S feels cold

S says: “Cold in

here, isn’t?”

H understands that S is aware that it is cold

H Understands that S wants the heater on

H Switches

on heater

S feels warmer

Goals and the Interpretation of Indirectness

..If we have a good idea of the speaker’s goal, we can make the conversation short..

..The term indirectness covers a range of phenomena, the illocutionary goal which is unclear..

Interestingness

..Interestingness is probably the least significant of the reasons given above, but nevertheless its importance should not be underestimated..

..People may use indirectness because they enjoy having fun with language..

Increasing the Force of One’s Message

..It is quite closely related to the interestingness..

..People can increase the ‘impact’ of effectiveness of your message by employing indirectness..

Competing Goals

..According to Pyle (1983), the user of indirect utterance relies upon his or her interlocuter’s ability to detect the problem..