From theory to practice Pragmatics 语用学 From theory to practice

Course description The course aims to help undergraduates know the basic concepts and principles in pragmatics as well as to provide a framework for research study in pragmatics which may give some insights into their research work and dissertation writing.

Lecture I What is pragmatics? Exercise 1 Paraphrase the sentence: It’s cold in here. From our linguistic knowledge, the sentence can be easily interpreted as: The temperature in this place is frigid.

When we concentrates on meaning that comes from purely linguistic knowledge, independent of the situation, we come to the branch of Semantics (语义学).

Exercise 2 Discuss the meaning in two different contexts: (a) Mike and Annie are in the living room. Mike asks Annie whether she’d like to eat dinner in the living room or the kitchen. Annie replies: It’s cold in here.

(b) The Queen and her butler, James, are in the drawing room (b) The Queen and her butler, James, are in the drawing room. The window is open. The Queen says: It’s cold in here.

The semantic meaning remains unchanged, in context (a) and (b), the semantic meaning is still The temperature in this place is frigid.

But when it comes to the implied meaning of the speaker, context (a) really means: Let’s eat in the kitchen while context (b) probably indicates: James, shut the window.

When we concentrates on those aspects of meaning that cannot be predicted by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account knowledge about the physical and social world, we come to a quite new subject – Pragmatics (语用学) The focus of pragmatic analysis is on the meaning of speakers’ utterances rather than on the meaning of words or sentences.

Below are four definitions of pragmatics Below are four definitions of pragmatics. What elements do they have in common? (a) Pragmatics studies the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on others. (Crystal, 1987, P.120) (b) Pragmatics can be usefully defined as the study of how utterances have meanings in situations. (Leech, 1983, P. x)

(c) Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said (c) Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said. (Yule, 1996, p.3) (d) There is a distinction between a hearer’s knowledge of her language and her knowledge of the world. In this section, I shall argue that it is this distinction that underlies the distinction between semantics and pragmatics. (Blackmore, 1992, p. 39)

Pragmatics can be defined in various ways Pragmatics can be defined in various ways. A general definition is that it is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication. 语用学是一门科学地研究语言使用的学科. Pragmatics can also be regarded as a kind of meaning study.

Exercise 3 Now provide a third context for It’s cold in here which would yield a third and different pragmatic meaning. Mike and Annie are in the greenhouse. Mike wonders why his flowers haven’t bloomed. Annie replies: It’s cold in here.

Sp: The temperature in this place is frigid. Pp: The flowers aren’t blooming because the greenhouse is too cold. Two or more utterances might have the same underlying sentence as their ‘script’, but they can have quite different interpretations in context(语境）.

Once the notion of context was taken into consideration, semantics spilled over into pragmatics. What distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study of meaning the context of use is considered. Context is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer.

The shared knowledge is of two types: the knowledge of the language they use, and the knowledge about the world, including the general knowledge about the world and the specific knowledge about the situation in which linguistic communication is taking place.

Exercise 4 See the following conversational extracts and decide if the meaning type under discussion would be primarily the concern of semantics or pragmatics. Parent: Where are your shoes, young man? Child: Under my bed. Parent: when I asked where your shoes were, I wanted you to put them on!

Sandy: Lugubrious? Bill: You know, sort of mournful, not very cheerful.

Dave: What did Macbeth mean when he said that life was a tale told by an idiot? Sarah: I guess he thought that life didn’t make any sense.

Exercise 5 Context is one of the key elements in pragmatic studies. One can interpret the same sentence quite differently in different contexts. The meaning of the sentence is largely based upon the situation that is used. Please discuss the implied meaning of “恭喜你!” in different contexts.

Summary Language meaning can be analyzed at several levels. Semantics concentrates on the meaning that comes from linguistic knowledge, while pragmatics concentrates on those aspects of meaning that cannot be predicted by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account our knowledge about the physical and social world.

Summary The focus of pragmatic analysis is on the meaning of speakers’ utterance rather than on the meaning of words or sentences. Utterances need not consist of complete sentences. Each utterance is a unique physical event created at a particular point in time for a particular communicative purpose.

Suggested booklist 《新编语用学概要》（何兆熊，上海外语教育出版社， 2000） 《语用学概论》 (何自然 冉永平，湖南教育出版社, 2006) 《语用学：现象与分析》(冉永平，北京大学出版社，2006) 《汉语文化语用学》（钱冠连， 清华大学出版社，1997） 《认知语用学概论》（熊学亮，上海外语教育出版社， 1999） 《认知语言学概论》（赵艳芳，上海外语教育出版社，2001）

Pragmatics, Stephen C Levinson,  外语教学与研究出版社，2001 Principles of Pragmatics, Leech, G., London: Longman, 1983 Pragmatics: An Introduction, Mey, Jacob, 外语教学与研究出版社, 2001 Doing Pragmatics, Grundy, Peter Edward Arnold, 1995 Understanding Utterances, Blackmore, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1992 The Pragmatics of Translation,  Hickey, Leo (ed.), 上海外语教育出版社, 2001 Translation and Relevance,  Gutt, E., Oxford: Balckwell 1991