Pragmatics

Power point presentation by Guillermo Torres

1. Definitions and background

Pragmatics:

The study of speaker meaning

The study of contextual meaning

The study of how more get communicated than said

The study of the expression of relative distance



Pragmatics:

What people mean in a particular context

How the context influences what is said



Syntax, semantics and Pragmatics:

The study of the relations between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence, which sentences are well formed


1. Definitions and background Syntax, semantics and Pragmatics:

The study of the relations between linguistic forms and entities in the world. How words conect to things

Concerned with the truth-conditions of propositions expressed in a sentence

“The duck, the dog and the bottle of ketchup”



Syntax, semantics and Pragmatics:

The study of linguistic forms and their users. People’s intended meaning


1. Definitions and background Regularity:

To be pragmatically appropiate in a context

If not: convey the meaning of a social outsider

Basic experiences share non-linguistic knowledge

“I found an old bike lying on the ground. The chain was rusted”


1. Definitions and background The pragmatics wastebasket:

Interpret order of mention as order of occurrence (and = and then)


2. Deixis and distance

Deixis:

Pointing via language

Person deixis: “me” - “You”

Spatial deixis: “here” - “there”

Temporal deixis: “now” - “then”

Indexicals = deictic expressions

What’s that?


2. Deixis and distance Deictic center (the speaker)

Proximal deictic expression:

this - here - now

Distal deictic expression:

that - there - then

person deixis:

speaker and addressee


2. Deixis and distance Deictic center (the speaker)

person deixis:

shifts from “I” to “you”


Social deixis:

Honorifics (UD - vos)

T/V distinction

2. Deixis and distance Person deixis


INCLUSIVE

EXCLUSIVE

Let’s go

Let us go

2. Deixis and distance Person deixis


Third person pronouns are DISTANT forms of person deixis

Would his highness like some coffe?

To make potential accusations

Somebody didn’t clean his teeth

2. Deixis and distance Spatial deixis


Psychological distance

I’m not here now (deictic projection)

The speaker’s perspective can be fixed mentally as well as physically

I don’t like that perfume

On the answering machine

2. Deixis and distance Temporal deixis


Then applies to both, past and future

Point of reference???

3. Reference and inference

Reference


The meaning the addressee gives to the speaker’s speech

Linguistic forms to enable the listener to identify something

Inference


Referencial and attributive uses


“the speaker knows that the referent does exist” (referential)

“whoever / whatever finds this description” (attributive)

He wants to marry a woman with lots of money

There was no sing of the killer


Names and referents


Convention between all members of a community

Can I borrow your SHAKESPEARE?

Where is the cheeseburger sitting?

Pragmatic connection


The role of co-text


The co-text limits the range of possible interpretations of the text

Possible interpretations???


The role of co-text


Wins the World Cup

Wins first round of trade talks


Anaphoric reference


The man was holding the cat. He left it

The man is the antecedent

“He” is the anaphor


Cataphoric reference


I stepped on it. The large snake in the middle of the path.

“It” is the cataphora

Zero anaphora or ellipsis

Cook for 3 minutes

4. Presupposition and entailment

A presupposition is:


something the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an

utterance

An entailment is:

something that logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance


A presupposition is:


something the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an

utterance

An entailment is:

something that logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance


Presupposition


Relation between at least two propositions

Mary’s dog is cute (=p)

Mary has a dog (=q)

p q

Constancy under negation


Types of Presuppositions


Potential pressupositions

Existencial pressupositions

Factive pressupositions

Lexical pressupositions

5. Cooperation and implicature Implicature

Additional conveyed meaning

The cooperative principle

Man: Does your dog bite?

Woman: No

Man: Ouch!. Hey! You said YOUR dog doesn’t bite

Woman: He doesn´t, but that’s not my dog.


5. Cooperation and implicature

The cooperative principle (Grice 1975)

The Maxims:

Quantity:

Make your contribution as informative as required

Do not make your contribution more informative than required



The Maxims:

Do not say what you believe to be false

Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence


Quality:

5. Cooperation and implicature The Maxims:

Avoid oscurity of expression

Avoid ambiguity

Manner: be perpicuous

Be brief

Be orderly


5. Cooperation and implicature The Maxims:

Be relevant

Relation



Hedges (cautious notes):

Expressions used to mark danger in not fully adhering to the principles

“say no more” “no comments” “My lips are sealed”

Good indicators that the speakers want to observe the maxims


5. Cooperation and implicature Generalized Conversational implicature

“When any form in the scale is asserted, the negative of all forms higher on the scale is IMPLICATED”

Scalar implicature

ALL MOSTMANYSOMEFEW



Conventional Implicatures

The words. BUT - EVEN -YET

Even John came to the party!

To express contrast: contrary to expectation


6. Speech acts and events

Speech acts:

Actions performed via utterances

apology - complaint - compliment - invitation - promise - request


The speaker’s intention in producing an utterance

Speech acts: locutionary act (first dimension)



The basic act of an utterance

Illocutionary act (second dimension)

Performed via the communicative force of the utterance

Perlocutionary act (third dimension)

The intended effect of the utterance

Speech act classification:

Declarations



“I pronounce you husband and wife”

Representatives

“The earth is flat”

Expressives

“I’m really sorry”

Speech act classification:

Directives



“Gimme a cup of coffee”

Commissives (commitment)

“I’ll be back”

Politeness: The idea of polite social behavior - to show awareness of another person’s face

Face


7. Politeness and interaction

The public self-image of a person

Relative social distance

“Mr. Buckingham” - “Bucky”

Face wants

Face threatening act


7. Politeness and interaction

A threat to another’s face

Face saving act

Say something to lessen a possible threat

Education

Pragmatics