PRAGMATICS

Presented By: Faiza Liaquat Hafsa Batool

Mahrukh Baig Umara Shaheen

Presented To: Sir Nazir Malik

Beyond the Linguistic Meaning

Pragmatics

Definitions and Scope

Steve Campsall on pragmatics Pragmatics is a way of investigating how sense can be made

of certain texts even when, from a semantic viewpoint, the text seems to be either incomplete or to have a different meaning to what is really intended.

(Steve Campsall)Ex:

Consider a sign seen in a children’s wear shop window:“Baby Sale – lots of bargain” .

The extra meaning is there, not because of the semantic aspects of the words themselves, but because we share certain contextual knowledge with the writer or speaker of text.

George Yule on pragmatics Pragmatics is the study of intended speaker meaning.

Pragmatics is the study of invisible meaning, or how we recognize what is meant even when it isn’t actually said or written.

Speakers and writers must be able to depend on a lot of shared assumptions and expectations.

If you see this sign you would normally understand that you can park your car this place, that is a heated area, and that there will be an attendant to look after car.

This sign does not even have the word car on it. Well, you use the meaning of the words, in combination, and the context in which they occur and you try to arrive at what the writer of the sign intended this message to convey.

If you see that sign, you normally understand that, this store has not gone into the business of selling children over there; but rather than it is advertising clothes for babies. The word clothes does not appear, but our normal interpretation would be that the advertiser intended us to understand his message.

Thomason on pragmatics

pragmatics allows us to investigate how “meaning beyond the words” can be understood.

(Thomason 1977)

Pragmatics (Yule 1996) Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.

Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.

Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said.

Pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance.

Pragmatics is the theory of ‘meaning-is-use’.

Pragmatics is a field of linguistics concerned with the meanings that sentences have in particular contexts where they are uttered.

Out of context: ‘There's a car coming’ = ‘a car is coming’.

In a particular context: ‘There's a car coming’ = ‘be warned not to step onto the road, a car is coming’.

In another context: ‘There's a car coming’ = ‘The car is coming, put the food on the table’.

Pragmatics is the study of ‘implicatures’ as opposed to 'literal meanings'.

Ex:Bob: are you coming to the party?Jane: You know, I’m really busy.

Jane response pragmatically implicates her attention (that she won’t come to the party), which Bob can infer via his past experience from countless other conversations.

“Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning.” (Wikipedia)

Meaning depends not only on:

verbal knowledge of the speaker and listener

beliefs of the speaker and the relations between the speakers

but also on the situational context and culture of the words.

People tend to behave in fairly regular ways when it comes to using language.

People are member of social groups and follow general patterns of behavior expected within the group.

Ex:

Routine responses of question, “How are you?” is “Okay” or “Fine”.

but in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia people generally answered with a phrase that had the literal meaning of “Praise to God”.

Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics

Syntax is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence and which sequences are well-formed.

Semantics is the study of the relationships linguistic forms and entities in the world i.e. how words literally connect to things.

Pragmatics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and their users.

In this three-part distinction, only pragmatics allows humans into analysis

Studying language via pragmatics

Advantage:

We can talk about people’s indented meanings, their assumptions, their purposes or goals, and the kinds of actions (e.g. request) that they are performing when they speak.

Disadvantage:

Human concepts are extremely difficult to analyze in a consistent and objective way.

To illustrate this consider the following example:

Two friends having conversation may imply some things and infer some others without providing any clear linguistic evidence that we can point to as the explicit source of ‘the meaning’ of what was communicated.

Her: So---did you?

Him: Hey---who wouldn’t?

How does Pragmatics Work? Imagine you are shopping downtown with a friend.

As you pass a well known pizza place, your friend longingly stares to the people outside eating pizza and remarks

“Hey, I am really hungry!”

What would be your reaction?

Taken out of context, your friend has simply provided a piece of information – that she is feeling hungry.

In terms of meaning she wants to communicate, however, it is likely he intends to get something else across.

You might interpret her remarks as a request to make a food stop and respond by saying

“Me too – Let’s get some pizza”. Note that in this case your interpretation of what your

friend means goes beyond what she has literally said.

How does Pragmatics Work? We can illustrate how pragmatics works by an example from football.

It sometimes happens that a team-mate will shout at you: “Man on!” Semantic analysis:

For example, it can elicit different lexical meanings of the noun “man” (mankind or the human race, an individual person, a male person specifically) and the preposition “on” (on top of, above, or other relationships as in “on fire”, “on heat”, “on duty”)

Structural meaning:This phrase works in longer sequences such as the “first man on the moon”, “a man on the run” or “the man on top of the Clapham omnibus”. None of this explains the meaning in the context of the football game. This is very complex, but perhaps includes at least the following elements:

Your team-mate has seen another player's movement, and thinks that you have either not seen it, or have not responded to it appropriately.

Your team-mate wants you to know that you are likely to be tackled or impeded in some way.

Your team-mate wants you to respond appropriately, as by shielding the ball, passing it to an unmarked player, laying it off for another team-mate and so on.

Your team-mate has an immediate concern for you, but this is really subordinated to a more far-sighted desire for you, as a player on his team, to protect the ball or retain possession, as this will make his team more likely to gain an advantage.

Your team-mate understands that your opponent will also hear the warning, but thinks that this hearing will not harm his team's chances as much as your not being aware of the approaching player.

Your team-mate foresees that you may rebuke him (and the other players on our team collectively) if no-one, from a better vantage point, alerts you to the danger.

How does Pragmatics Work?

You ask a friend how English literature class was. She rolls her eyes, shrugs emphatically and responds“Literature? Oh, you know, it was fantastic!”

It is obvious that your friend is being ironic – saying the opposite of what she actually means.

But how do we figure this out? Apparently there are clues in the utterances and in the facial

expressions of speakers which allow us to notice irony. These clues are not contained in the words themselves – they are in the context.

Context Suppose one of you says, 'Let's have chocolate now!' Now is sometime in Ramadan. The place where she is making the statement is in this

laboratory. The person who says the statement is a female, Arab, and

Muslim student. The statement is uttered in the presence of a teacher, who is

meant to uphold a certain set of rules of conduct. Within the context of Ramadan, this statement would be

outrageous, but within other contexts it would have been a welcome invitation, wouldn’t it?The statement has more than one meaning depending on its time context.

This statement might have been made by a bold student challenging your feelings in Ramadan, or by a person wanting to celebrate The meaning of the statement depends in part on the person who said it and on her intention.

The word ‘chocolate’ may give the connotation of ‘celebration’.

The meaning of the statement is determined in part by the setting and the linguistic context it was uttered in.

There are two types of context:

(1) physical context or setting, which includes who made an utterance, to whom, when, where, and in what conditions

(2) linguistic context or co-text, which is the words within which an utterance is made, all the words and their implications are co-text of an utterance.

Linguistic ContextLinguistic Context

The word (bank) is a homonym ,a form with more than one word .

If the word (bank) is used in sentence together with words like steep or overgrown we have no problem deciding which type of bank is meant. It means shore “the land

around a river.”

When you hear someone say that she has get to the bank to cash a check. We know from the linguistic context which type of bank is intended. The mean of the bank here is the place where people put money inside for saving.

•physical context:

If you see the word BANK On the wall of a building in a city ,the physical location will influence your Interpretation.

Our understanding of much we read and hear is tied Our understanding of much we read and hear is tied to the physical context ,particularly the time and to the physical context ,particularly the time and

place ,in which we encounter linguistic expressionplace ,in which we encounter linguistic expression..

DeixisDefinitions:

The word ‘deixis’ is a technical term (from Greek) for one of the most basic things we do with utterances, which means ‘pointing via language.’

(George Yule) “Deixis concerns ways in which the interpretation of utterance

depends on the analysis of that context of utterance.”

(Stephen C. Levinson)

Deixis is any word that cannot be interpreted without reference to physical context: the speaker, addressee, time, and place of utterance.

Ex:

you’ll have to bring that back tomorrow, because they aren’t there now.

Out of context, this sentence is extremely vague. It contains a larger number of expressions (you, that, tomorrow, they, here, now) which depend for their interpretation on the immediate physical context in which they were uttered.

These cannot be understand in terms of speaker’s intended meaning.

These are technically known as deictic expressions.

Deictic Expression Any linguistic form used to accomplish ‘pointing’ is

called a deictic expression.

Deictic expressions are also known as indexicals.

Deictic Expression Deictic expressions are meaningful in a given

context. They are among the first words acquired by

children. In order to be interpreted correctly, the speaker and

listener have to share the same context. They are particularly useful in face to face

communication.

Deictic Expression What are the deictic expressions in the following

utterance?

I’m busy now you can’t do that here. Come back tomorrow.

Types of Deixis Person Deixis: any expression used to point to a person

(me, you, him, them) is an example of PERSON DEIXIS.

Space/Spatial/Place Deixis: words used to point to a location (here, there) are examples of Place Deixis.

Time/Temporal Deixis: the expression used to a time (now, then, tonight, last week, yesterday) are examples of Time Deixis.

Person Deixis Person deixis operates on a basis three-part division,

exemplified by the pronouns for first person (‘I’), second person (‘you’), and third person (‘he, she, it’).

A speech event includes at least two persons:

- first person = speaker

- second person = addressee Usually the third person is not grammatically marked,

because the only two persons of importance are the first person and the second person.

Person DeixisPronouns:

All languages have personal pronouns or at least words, that refer to the participants of the speech act.

The pronouns of the first (I-my-mine) and second person (you-your-yours) are deictic (reference to the speaking person).

It is also possible to have deictic pronouns for the third person.

Definite and specific pronouns: this, that, those, or these.

Indefinite and specific pronouns: somebody, something, who, what.

Indefinite and non-specific pronouns: someone, something, nobody, nothing.

Space/Spatial/Place Deixis The concept of distance is relevant to spatial deixis, where the relative

location of people and things is being indicated.

Some pure place-deictic words: here and there (adverbs); this and that (demonstrative pronouns).

Here = (near); there = (more distant)

Demonstrative pronouns:This = the object in a pragmatically given area close to the speaker’s location.That = the object beyond the pragmatically given area close to the speaker’s location.

Ex:

I’m writing to say I’m having a marvelous time here. (includes the location of speaker)

Bring that here and take this there. (away from the location of speaker)

Motion verbs:

come vs. go makes distinction between the direction of motion.

She’s coming = she is moving towards the speaker’s location.

She’s going = she is moving away from the speaker’s location.

I’m coming = the speaker is moving towards the location of the addressee.

Time deixis

Expressions referring to time:five minutes ago tomorrow last week next Monday

Choice of tense: present tense : He doesn’t know.

(this is nearer to the point of reference)

past tense: Yesterday I slept for 10 hours(this communicates distance from

current time)

Conditionalsif I won the lottery I would …(this communicates distance from current reality)

Time Deixis is relevant to various other deictic elements in language:

Ex: Greetings:

Good morning (can only be used in the morning) Expressions:

the former president, my ex-roommate

REFERENCE AND INFERENCE

Reference is an act by which a speaker (or writer)uses language to enable a listener (or reader)to identify something.

Example: one man who always went by fast and loud on his motorcycle in my neighborhood was locally referred to as “ Mr. Kawasaki ”. A brand name for a motorcycle can obviously be used for a person .

An inference is any additional information used by the listener to connect what is said to what must be meant. A listener may infer from this statement: ‘He can read even Shakespeare’, that Shakespeare is difficult to read

.

Anaphora:When we establish a referent (can I borrow your book? ) and subsequently refer to the same object (yeah ,it’s on the table ), we have a particular kind of referential relationship between book and it.

o The second referring expression is an example of anaphora.

o And the first mention is called the antecedent.

In the last example : book is the antecedent and it is the anaphoric expression.

Anaphora can be defined as subsequent reference to an already introduced entity. Mostly we use anaphora in texts to maintain reference, as with other types of reference ,the connection between referent and anaphora may not always be direct.

Example: I was waiting for the bus ,but he just drove by without stopping .

The antecedent is bus and the anaphoric expression is he . He is referring for the man who drive the bus .

Presupposition:

Presupposition is a term developed in philosophy by P. F. Strawson; thence into linguistics in the late 1960s.

Presupposition is a relation between propositions (statements) by which A presupposes B if, for A to be true, B must be true.

E.g., 'The King of Egypt is bald' is neither true nor false unless the presupposition that 'There is a King of Egypt’ is true.

E.g. ‘I'm sorry for thinking you were the cleaner’ presupposes that either the speaker or the addressee or both view being a cleaner is bad.

Presupposition:When a speaker uses referring expressions in normal circumstances, she is working with an assumption that the hearer knows which referent is intended.

What a speaker assumes is true or is known by the hearer can be described as a Presupposition.

If someone tells you your brother is waiting outside for you , there is an obvious presupposition that you have a brother.

If you are asked why did you arrive late ? There is a presupposition that you did arrive late.

One of the tests used to check for the presuppositions underlying sentences involves negating a sentence with a particular presupposition and considering whether the presupposition remains true .

Example: my car is a wreck. The negative version of this sentence is my car is not a wreck .although these two sentences have opposite meanings , the underlying presupposition ,I have a car , remains true in both

This is called the constancy under negation test for presupposition.

Context:

There are different kinds of context to be considered :

1- linguistic context:also known as co-text.

the co-text of word is the set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence.

This surrounding co-text has a strong effect on what we think the word mean.

Example:

The word (bank) is a homonym ,a form with more than one word.

If the word (bank) is used in sentence together with words like steep or overgrown we have no problem deciding which type of bank is meant.it mean shore “the land around a river”

When you hear someone say that she has get to the bank to cash a check. We know from the linguistic context which type of bank is intended. The mean of the bank here is the place where people put money inside for saving.

2-physical context:

If you see the the word

BANK On the wall of a

building in a city ,the

physical location will

influence your

Interpretation.

Our understanding of much we read and hear is Our understanding of much we read and hear is tied to the physical context ,particularly the time tied to the physical context ,particularly the time and place ,in which we encounter linguistic and place ,in which we encounter linguistic expression.expression.

SPEECH ACT THEORY

Apologise

Request

Promise

Ask aquestion

Advise

Order

” ”There’s a snake in the grass”There’s a snake in the grass”

• Words in sentences likeWords in sentences like

There’s a snake in the grassThere’s a snake in the grass

involve more than a description of theinvolve more than a description of theworld:world:

The speaker could be:The speaker could be:1.1. Informing that there is a snake in the grassInforming that there is a snake in the grass2.2. Threatening ...Threatening ...3.3. warning the hearer that ...warning the hearer that ...4.4. expressing his/her fear that ...expressing his/her fear that ...

• Language can be used not just for Language can be used not just for describingdescribing the the thoughts and beliefs, but also for thoughts and beliefs, but also for performingperforming different acts. different acts.

• ””Actions performed via utterances are generally Actions performed via utterances are generally called called speech acts.speech acts.” (Yule 1996:47)” (Yule 1996:47)

• RequestRequest• ApologyApology• ComplaintComplaint• Promise Promise • Order Order • WarningWarning• InvitationInvitation• GreetingGreeting

We doWe do things

things with words

with words

1962

Austin’s book

Austin’s book

Austin (1962)

The action performed through an utteranceconsists of three acts:

• Locutionary act – Production of a meaningful utterance

• Illocutionary act – The communicative function/ purpose of the utterance • Perlocutionary act – Effect of the utterance upon the listener

already waiting within three a week weeks for the, and been I was it would told

computer be delivered I’ve.

utteranceutterance

I’ve already been waiting three weeks

for the computer, and I was told it would be

delivered within a week.

locutionary actlocutionary act

(I complain) I’ve already been waiting three weeks for the computer, and I was

told it would be delivered within a

week.

illocutionary actillocutionary act

perlocutionary perlocutionary actact

I’ve already been waiting three weeks

for the computer, and I was told it would be

delivered within a week. (so do

something about it!)

I promise you that!

The illocutionary force of an utterance is

what it “counts as”.

Word order Stress and intonation pattern

Perlocutionary force is the reaction of the listeners: how people react to sentences

Telephonic conversation

A: Can I talk to Nancy?

B: No, she’s not here.

A: I’m asking can I talk to her?

B: I’m telling you--- SHE’S NOT HERE!

Austin’s Classification of Speech Acts

1- 1- Constatives:Constatives: All the speech acts except All the speech acts except declarationsdeclarations

2- 2- Decalarations/ Performatives: Decalarations/ Performatives: Speech acts that Speech acts that change the state of affairs in thechange the state of affairs in theworldworld

• I sentence you to ten years of hard labour.I sentence you to ten years of hard labour.• I sentence you to deathI sentence you to death• I pronounce that they may be Man and Wife.I pronounce that they may be Man and Wife.• You are under arrest.You are under arrest.• I declare war on Jordan. I declare war on Jordan.

Felicity Conditions

“Felicity conditions are the expected or appropriate

circumstances surrounding the utterances for the

performance of a speech act to be recognized as

intended.”

(Yule 1996:50)

Shut the window!

The felicity conditions would help us determine the “communicative intention” of the speaker (speech-act).

Felicity Conditions

Authority (social status): Person Place Time Manner

Sincerity: Verbal Sincerity Intonational Sincerity Behavioral Sincerity

Content: Content should match the function of the utterance

J. Searle's J. Searle's (1975)

Speech Acts theorySpeech Acts theory

is a development of is a development of

Austin's analysis of Austin's analysis of

Speech Acts.Speech Acts.

John Searle’s Speech Act Theory

Searle suggested a five-fold classification of speech acts:Searle suggested a five-fold classification of speech acts:

• Directives: Command, Request

• Commissives: Oath, Offer, Promise

• Representatives: Assertion, claim, conclusion

• Declaratives: Marriage, Baptism, Court-decisions

• Expressives: Apology, thanks, Congratulations

Searle’s Classification of Speech ActsSearle’s Classification of Speech Acts

Structurally speech acts can be divided into:

Direct Speech Acts:

There is a direct relationship between structure and function of the sentence.

Indirect Speech Acts: There is an indirect relationship between structure

and function of the sentence.

Structural Classification of Speech ActsStructural Classification of Speech Acts

The locutionary and the illocutionary acts coincide in direct

speech acts and do not coincide in indirect speech acts.

I really don’t I really don’t expect you to expect you to tell me your tell me your age, but how age, but how old are you?old are you?

Direct Speech ActDirect Speech Act

Which speech act is Which speech act is being performed?being performed?RequestRequest

Could you fill in Could you fill in this form, this form, please?please?

Consider the following exampleConsider the following example

Indirect Speech ActIndirect Speech Act

When a lady says no, she means ‘perhaps’;

When she says perhaps, she means ‘yes’;

When she says yes, she is not a lady.     

Voltaire (1778) says:

Politeness is commonly thought of as being

tactful, modest, and nice to others, but politeness, in linguistics, is showing

awareness of another person’s face.

Face, in pragmatics, is the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself.

…Continued There are different kinds of politeness

associated with the assumption of relative social distance and closeness.

Example:

a. Excuse me, Mr Buckingham, but can I talk to you for a minute?

b. Hey, Bucky, got a minute?

Face wants Face wants-------- individual’s expectations

concerning his/her public self-image Face-threatening act: If a person says

something that represents a threat to another individual’s expectations regarding self-image, it is described as a face threatening act.

Face-saving act: Whenever you say something that lessens the possible threat to another’s face, it’s called a face-saving act.

…Continued

Example:Husband: I’m going to tell him to stop that

awful noise right now!

Wife: Perhaps you could just ask him if he is

going to stop soon because it’s getting a

bit late and people need to get to sleep.

Two types of face: Positive and Negative

Positive Face: Belongingness The public self. The positive consistent

self-image or ‘personality’ crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved by interactants.

The want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others.

Negative Face: Privacy Invented by Brown and

Levinson The concept of the right

to privacy. The basic claim to

territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction

The want of every ‘competent adult member’ that his actions be unimpeded by others.

Self and other: say nothing Many people seem to prefer to have their

needs recognized by others without having to express those needs in language.

Example:

Self: (looks in bag)

Other: (offers pen) Here, use this.

Say something: off and on record Off record statements------- ‘hints’ or statements

not directly addressed to the other.a. Uh, I forgot my pen.b. Hmm, I wonder where I put my pen. On record statements------statements directly

addressed to the other as a means to expressing your needs.

Bald on record ------- the most direct approach using imperative forms.

a. Give me a pen.b. Lend me your pen.

……..Continued Mitigating devices------bald on record forms may

be followed by expressions like ‘please’ and ‘would you?’ which serve to soften the demand.

All imperative forms are not bald on record statements.

Have some more cake. Bald on record expressions are associated with

speech events where the speaker assumes that he/she has power over the other.

Interaction between social equals------- Face threatening act.

Positive and Negative Politeness Strategies

Positive politeness strategy leads the requester to appeal to a common goal, and even friendship, via expressions such as:

a. How about letting me use your pen?b. Hey, buddy, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me use your pen. Negative politeness strategy--------expressions of apology for

the imposition or extended talk often with hesitations:a. I’m sorry to bother you , but can I ask you for a pen or

something?b. I know you’re busy, but might I ask you if– em –if you

happen to have an extra pen that I could, you know– eh– may be borrow?

Strategies Solidarity strategy------- personal

information, use of nicknames, and shared dialect and slang expressions.

Deference strategy------ formal politeness, impersonal, can include expressions that refer to neither the speaker nor the hearer.

……..ContinuedHow to get a pen from someone else

say something say nothing (but search in bag)

on record off record (“I forgot my pen”)

face saving act bald on record (‘Give me a pen’)

positive politeness negative politeness(‘How about letting me use your pen?’) (I’m sorry to bother you , but can I ask you for a pen or something?)

Pre-sequences Pre-request(a)

Her: Are you busy? (= pre request)

Him: Not really. (= go ahead)

Her: Check over this memo. (=request)

Him: Okay. (=accept)

(b)

Him: Are you busy? (= pre-request)

Her: Oh, sorry. (=stop)

In short…..

Politeness is a system of interpersonal relations designed to facilitate interaction by minimizing the potential for conflict and confrontation inherent in human interchange.

ConclusionPragmatics…. covers things that semantics (hitherto) has

overlooked.

is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms.

gives insights into person-to-person interactions

References Levinson, S.C.(1983) “Pragmatics”,

Edinburgh: Cambridge University Press

Searle, J.(1972) “What is a Speech Act?”, Giglioli, P.P. (ed) “Language and Social Context”, Milan: University of Milan Press

Yule, G.(1996) “Pragmatics”, New York: Oxford University Press