Discourse and Pragmatics Speech Act Theory and Pragmatics

Speech Speech Situation Conversation utterance

Conversational Implicature We guess what people mean by referring to certain DEFAULT EXPECTATIONS When people do not fulfill the default expectations They create IMPLICATURE (‘special meaning’

Implicature I love you. Thank you.

How is Alan doing in his new job at HSBC? Oh, quite well, I think. He likes his colleagues and he hasn’t been to prison yet.

Default Expectations Grice Conversation is ‘rational behavior’ The Cooperative Principle Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it is occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.

Conversational ‘Maxims’ The Maxim of Quantity Be only as informative as required for current conversational purposes. The Maxim of Quality Say only what you believe to be true and adequately supported. The Maxim of Relation Be relevant. The Maxim of Manner Be clear: be brief and orderly and avoid obscurity and ambiguity.

Maxims vs. Rules Sets of expectations which we exploit to make meaning. The point is not that we follow these maxims or that we ‘should’ follow them. The point is that when we deviate from them we create a IMPLICATURE.

Maxim of Quantity Make your contribution as informative as required for the current purposes of the exchange. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Maxim of Quality Try to make your contribution one that is true. Do not say what you believe to be false. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Maxims of Relevance and Manner Maxim of Relevance Be relevant Maxim of Manner Avoid obscurity of expression Avoid ambiguity Be brief Be orderly

Examples Which Maxim/s is/are being flouted? What kind of implicature does it create Do you have any money on you? Is there anywhere I can powder my nose? Isn’t my new boyfriend handsome? He has a very nice personality.

A Well, how do I look? B Your shoes are nice. ‘I could eat a horse’ ‘Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.’ A So what do you think of Mark? B His flatmate’s a wonderful cook.

A Does your dog bite? B No. A [Bends down to stroke it and gets bitten] Ow! You said your dog doesn’t bite. B That isn’t my dog.

Husband How much did that new dress cost, darling? Wife I know, let’s go out tonight. Now, where would you like to go?

Implicature l By observing the cooperative principle, interlocutors are able to work out what is meant from what is said. l Utterances do not always carry their literal meaning. l Non-literal meaning must be inferred from context and the cooperative principle. l Non-literal interpretations are referred to as implicatures. l Implicature is a special type of inference in which the hearer makes the assumption that the speaker is NOT actually breaking one of the conversational maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner.