Pragmatics April 3, 2012.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Pragmatics is the study of how people do things with words.
Advertisements

Conversational Implicature (Based on Paltridge, chapter 3)
Conversations  Conversation are cooperative events:  Without cooperation, interaction would be chaotic. Would be no reason to communicate  Grice's.
Review Exercises 1) Do the COMPONENTIAL analysis (not the compositional one) of the following words: hen b) rooster Componential analysis 2) Does ‘A’
Topic 10: conversational implicature Introduction to Semantics.
The Cooperative Principle
EL1101E WEEK 10: PRAGMATICS Group members: Elaine Ong Ong Min Thakshayeni Skanthakumar Jeannie Poon.
Pragmatics November 28, The Light at the End of the Tunnel Today: Syntax homework due! The final homework for the class will be due next Wednesday.
Philosopher J.L.Austin’s book How to do things with words (1962)
Lecture Six Pragmatics.
Semantics November 30, The Last Details Semantics/pragmatics homework will be posted after class today. Will be due on Wednesday Future plans: Today:
Albert Gatt LIN1180 – Semantics Lecture 10. Part 1 (from last week) Theories of presupposition: the semantics- pragmatics interface.
CAS LX 502 7a. Speech acts Ch. 8. How to do things with words Language as a social function. — I bet you $1 you can’t name the Super Tuesday states. —You’re.
1 Introduction to Linguistics II Ling 2-121C, group b Lecture 10 Eleni Miltsakaki AUTH Spring 2006.
Speech acts and events. Ctions performed To express themselves, people do not only produce utterances, they perform actions via those Utterances, such.
Pragmatics Study of language use Relationship between context and meaning.
Reported Speech Roll No Presented By:- Class: Ixth “A”
Macropragmatics Speech act theory.
Direct and indirect speech acts
Introduction to linguistics II
Pragmatics.
Advanced Spoken English Speech Act Theory What are Speech Acts? Speaking is performative Utterances are functional -Giving orders, instructions -Making.
Semantics 3rd class Chapter 5.
 We have been considering ways in which we interpret the meaning of an utterance in terms of what the speaker intended to convey.  However, we have.
6.3 Macropragmatics Speech act theory The cooperative principle The politeness principle.
Topic 9: perlocution and illocution
PRAGMATICS A: I have a fourteen year old son B: Well that's all right
Language used in conversation Two ways 1. For manipulating relationships 2. Achieving particular goals Rules for conducting and interpreting conversations.
Phil 148 Chapter 2B. Speech Act Rules 1. Must the speaker use any special words or formulae to perform the speech act? 2. Must the (a) speaker or (b)
Chapter 8 Pragmatics Contents 8.1 Some basic notions 8.2 Speech act theory 8.3 Principle of conversation.
Practice Examples 1-4. Def: Semantics is the study of Meaning in Language  Definite conclusions Can be arrived at concerning meaning.  Careful thinking.
PRAGMATICS HOW TO DO THINGS WITH WORDS. What is Pragmatics? Pragmatics is the study of invisible meaning. Identifying what is meant but not said. J. L.
HELLO THERE !.... It's great to see you ! And by the way, did you know about the previous expression ?
Research Methods in T&I Studies I Cooperative Principle and Culture-Specific Maxims.
Reported Speech What is it? How do you use it? Yesterday, I saw my friend Pamela! She told me that she got a promotion!
Pragmatics Lecture # 19.
Free Powerpoint Templates Page 1 Gricean Cooperative Principle.
Pragmatics.
Pragmatics 1 Ling400. What is pragmatics? Pragmatics is the study of language use.Pragmatics is the study of language use. Intuitive understanding of.
Dr. Katie Welch LING  Heretofore, we have talked about the form of language  But, this is only half the story.  We must also consider the.
MLS 570 Critical Thinking Reading Notes Fogelin: Ch. 1 Fall Term 2006 North Central College Dr. Sally Fowler.
ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute OBJECTIVES You will understand: 1. The terminology and concepts of semantics, pragmatics and discourse.
Presentation about pragmatic concepts Implicatures Presuppositions
Welcome Back, Folks! We’re travelling to a littele bit far-end of Language in Use Studies EAA remains your faithful companion.
UNIT 2 - IMPLICATURE.
Pragmatics LO: to understand and be able to apply Grice’s conversational maxims and the concept of schema to texts. Starter: Discussion point Without realising.
Critical Reasoning.
Pragmatics Nuha Alwadaani.
© Rafael Moreno Esteban 2007 Can / Can’t Can is used to talk about ability(inability),rules®ulati ons, possibility, to ask for and give permission,
Pragmatics (1) Dr. Ansa Hameed.
Cooperation and Implicature (Conversational Implicature) When people talk with each other, they try to converse smoothly and successfully. Cooperation.
SPEECH ACT THEORY: Direct and Indirect. Sentence Structure Sentences can be classified based on the structures into: Declarative sentence Declarative.
Introduction to Linguistics
Implicature. I. Definition The term “Implicature” accounts for what a speaker can imply, suggest or mean, as distinct from what the speaker literally.
PRAGMATICS 2.
Aristotel‘s concept to language studies was to study true or false sentences - propositions; Thomas Reid described utterances of promising, warning, forgiving.
Speech Acts: What is a Speech Act?
Noun Clauses Chapter 12.
COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE:
COOPERATION and IMPLICATURE
Discourse and Pragmatics
Week 9 language in context
The Cooperative Principle
The study of meaning in context
The Cooperative Principle
Gricean Cooperative Principle (Maxim) and Implicature
Direct and indirect speech acts
Flouting Maxims A: Teheran’s in Turkey, isn’t it, professor?
Presentation transcript:

Pragmatics April 3, 2012

Some Announcements Today: Syntax homework due! The final homework for the class will be due next Tuesday. …for which you will need to understand the material I am going to go over in today’s lecture. …and also some Semantics (to be discussed in the next two lectures) Note: extra reading on Pragmatics has been posted to the course webpage. USRI evaluations will be held at the end of class today.

Sentences vs. Utterances The meaning of a sentence can usually be derived from the meaning of its words (and how they are combined by syntax). However: sometimes, the meaning of a sentence can change depending on how it’s used in a particular context. Sentence: a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a language. Sentences are abstract idealizations Sentences are not physical events Utterance: the use of a sentence, in a particular context. Utterances are actual, physical events Utterances can derive meaning from context which they can’t derive from their abstract form as sentences.

Sentences in Context Sentence 1: Kim’s got a knife. Context 1: You’re sitting on the beach in Tahiti, trying to figure out how to open a coconut. Someone says: Kim’s got a knife! Context 2: Darrell has just crashed into Kim’s car. Kim gets out of her car, looking angry, with a butcher knife in her hand. In context 1, the sentence provides information. In context 2, the sentence is a warning.

Pragmatics, defined Pragmatics is the study of how meaning is derived from context. Pragmatics is also the study of how language is used in context. The word “pragmatics” is derived from the Greek: /pragma/ “deed” and an even earlier form: /prassein/ “to do”

Speech Acts It turns out that we can use language to do things. When we use language to do something, we are performing a speech act. What can we do with the following expressions? Time out! Shotgun! Jinx! The “meaning” of these expressions is what they do. (i.e., the use we put them to.)

Speech Act Examples Speech acts can also be performed with complete sentences. John read the book. assertion Did John read the book? question Please pass the salt. request Kim’s got a knife! warning Get out of here! order I will love you forever. promise I’ll give you a reason to cry. threat

Performative Verbs There are some verbs whose meaning is the speech act they perform. These verbs are known as performative verbs. I bet you ten bucks the Flames will win. I dare you to leave. I promise to buy you some ice cream. I nominate Batman for mayor of Gotham City. I call shotgun! I resign. I confer on you the degree of Bachelor of Arts. I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Performance Conditions A “performative” verb only performs the action it describes if it’s used: in the present tense with a first person subject Examples: I promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. #John promises to buy you some ice cream tonight. #I will promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. We promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. (# denotes that the utterance of these words does not actually perform the speech act.)

The “Hereby Test” If a sentence sounds fine with “hereby”, it is being used performatively. Examples: I hereby promise to buy you some ice cream. I hereby pronounce you man and wife. I hereby dub thee George. I hereby challenge you to a duel. #I hereby walk around the block. #I hereby sing. Also notice: Smoking is hereby forbidden.

Performance Problems You can’t always perform a speech act by just saying something. Context: A man is speaking to his wife. “I hereby divorce you.” Context: An unmarried couple is talking with a bartender. The bartender says: “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The conditions which must be fulfilled for a speech act to be carried out properly are known as felicity conditions. Also known as “appropriateness conditions”

Felicity Conditions Quiz Time What are the felicity conditions for the Quick Write speech acts? “Time out!” “Shotgun!” “Jinx!” When someone attempts to perform a speech act when the appropriate felicity conditions have not been met, the speech act is said to be infelicitous.

Examples of Infelicity

Felicity Conditions for Questions Speech Act: Speaker asks Hearer about a proposition “P”. Q: Did the Flames beat the Oilers last night? P: The Flames beat the Oilers last night. Felicity Conditions: Speaker doesn’t know P. Speaker wants to know P. Speaker believes hearer knows P. Speaker believes hearer can share information about P.

Sentence Type vs. Sentence Use There are three basic sentence types: declaratives, interrogatives, imperatives Each sentence type is typically used for a certain kind of speech act. Declarative sentences are typically used in assertions. They convey information about what is true and what is false. Examples: LeBron James plays basketball. The dog ate the bone. Linguistics is fun.

Sentence Type vs. Sentence Use Interrogative sentences are typically used in questions. They are used to elicit information from the hearer. Examples: Did the Flames beat the Oilers last night? Is it snowing again? Imperative sentences are typically used in orders and requests. They are meant to affect the behavior of the hearer. Stop it! Tell me what happened.

Sentence Structure Note that each sentence type has a distinct syntactic structure: Declarative sentence: Subject-Verb-(Object) LeBron James plays basketball. Interrogative sentence: order of Subject and Auxiliary has been inverted. Did the Flames beat the Oilers? Imperative sentence: no explicit subject! Pass the salt!

Direct and Indirect A direct speech act occurs when a particular sentence type is being used to serve its typical function Sentence Function Declarative Assertion Interrogative Question Imperative Order/Request Also: the speech act is based on the literal meaning of the sentence. Indirect speech acts may be made whenever a particular sentence type is used to serve an atypical function.

Direct vs. Indirect Speech Acts Direct: Please close the door. Imperative sentence type; order/request Indirect: Do you think you could close the door? Interrogative sentence type; order/request Direct: Did Bart get the job? Interrogative sentence type; question Indirect: I was wondering if Bart got the job. Declarative sentence type; question We use indirect speech acts in conversation all the time. Example: “I would like the roast beef.” Note: “I would like the roast beef.” = Declarative Sentence structure Speech Act = order/request

Cheap Attempts at Humor At a crowded airline ticket counter, a harried man rushes to the front of the line and demands: Harried Man: “I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS!” Ticket Agent: “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I have to help these other folks first.” Harried Man (loudly): “Do you have any idea who I am?” Ticket Agent (speaking through PA system): “May I have your attention please? We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to the gate.”

Identifying Indirect Speech Acts If a sentence contains a verb that is being used performatively, it is a direct speech act. I promise to buy you some ice cream. If there is no performative verb, identify the sentence type. Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative Determine whether the sentence type has its typical function. If yes: another direct speech act. A helpful criterion: determine how the listener would normally respond to the sentence. Ex: “I would like the roast beef.” #”Oh, that’s interesting!”

Identifying Indirect Speech Acts Are any felicity conditions violated for the literal meaning of the sentence? Ex: “Can you take the garbage out?” Does the asker really not know the answer to this question? If not, why would they ask it?  to draw the listener’s attention to the answer.  This is an indirect request.

Assignment! For next Tuesday (the 10th), write down two indirect speech acts that you hear (or use) during the course of your everyday conversations over the next week. And explain why they’re indirect speech acts. (more homework details will be forthcoming on Thursday)

The “Maxims” of Conversation The freedom that speakers have to use speech acts either directly or indirectly leaves listeners with a lot of leeway in how they interpret what has been said. A set of “maxims” exist for contributions to a conversation These maxims make conversation orderly and sensible (more or less) They are not rules; they do not need to be followed. One can observe the maxims, dis-obey the maxims, or even flout them.

The Cooperative Principle The basic, over-arching maxim is the Cooperative Principle. “Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.” Basically: what you say should further the purpose of the conversation. Because of this principle, listeners will assume that speakers are cooperating with them. and draw conclusions (inferences) on the basis of that assumption.

Flouting When a speaker intentionally disobeys a maxim in a way that the listener will notice, they are flouting a maxim. This is done to provide information to the listener indirectly. This is often done in sarcasm or irony. Example: What an amazing hockey player Bob is! If Bob has just scored an incredible goal, then this comment is obeying the maxims of conversation. If Bob just missed a wide open shot, then this comment is flouting the maxims of conversation. = Saying something that is clearly untrue, knowing that the listener will notice.

Maxim #1: Relevance The maxim of relevance: say things that are relevant to the topic under discussion. Prevents randomness and incoherence. Contributions are always interpreted as if they are relevant to the conversation. Example 1: Bob: Where’s Bill? Ed: There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house. Example 2: Bob: Isn’t Larry the biggest jerk you’ve ever met? Ed: The weather’s sure been nice this week, hasn’t it?

Maxim #2: Quality Maxim of Quality: Don’t say what you believe to be false. Don’t say what you can’t back up. People often disagree about things like the “truth” and “evidence”. Flouting the Maxim of Quality: Reporter: Were you celebrating your birthday last week? Old film diva: Yes, I turned 39! Reporter: And I’m turning 150 next Monday!

Other Quality Floutings Example 1: Bob: Chicago’s in Kansas, right? Ed: And LA’s in Idaho! Example 2: Queen Victoria was made of iron.

Maxim #3: Quantity The Maxim of Quantity: Make your contribution as informative as is required. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required. In general: listeners assume they are being told everything they need to know. Example: My ethically questionable lawyer friend.

Flouting Quantity Stating necessary truths, (tautologies, or analytic sentences) is an example of flouting the maxim of quantity. War is war. Either Bob will come, or he won’t. If she does it, she does it.

Maxim #4: Manner The maxim of manner: be clear. This one breaks down into four parts: Avoid obscurity Avoid ambiguity Be brief Be orderly Example: At the concert last night, Jessica Simpson produced a series of sounds corresponding somewhat to the score of “The Star Spangled Banner”.