SENTENCE IN PRAGMATICS

1. Pragmatics – a systematic way of explaining language use in context. Tries to explain

aspects of mng which can’t be found in the plain sense of wds or structures (sem-cs)

Fairly new. Paul Grice, Stephen Levinson, Penelope Brown, Geoffrey Leech.

2. We use lang all time to make things happen. … L-sts call these things “speech acts”

3. PR includes: speech act theory, felicity conditions, conversational implicature, the

cooperative principle, conversational maxims, relevance,politeness,phatic tokens,deixis

4. SpA. Acts: 1) locutionary (SpA that have taken place); 2) illoc (real actions, say=do)

3) perloc (effects on the listener).

J.R Searle: 5 categories of illoc acts: 1) representatives (believe, deny, conclude, report

2) directives (make hearer do smth: ask, beg, challenge, command)

3) commissives (commit o.s. to future actions: vow, guarantee, promise, swear)

4) expressives (expr an attit: apologize, congratulate, detest, welcome)

5) declaratives (alters the external status or condition: I now pronounce you.)

Pragmatic types of sces: constatives (=repr), directives (inj & req), questions,promises,

menaces (P&M: I’ll kill you), performatives (=declarations)

5. FC: 1) preparatory cs (the status/authority of the speaker, the situation of other parties)

2) cs for execution (external circumstances must be suitable: “Can u give me a lift?”

3) sincerity cs (in some cases, the speaker must be sincere (apology or vow))

6. CI. Grice-how hrrs mnge to workout the cmplt mssge whn spkrs mean more thn say.

“Have you got any cash on you?” The spkr implies it, the hearer infers it.

must be understood: 1) the usual linguistic mng of what is said;

2) contextual info (shared/general knowledge); 3) the assumptn that the sp is ob CP

7. CM&CP interaction!Grice. Smtimes disregard,but in ordin conv-n–follow CP. 4 CMs:

1) quality (speakers should be truthful); 2) quantity (infor-ve;neither too lttl,nor

3) relevance (clearly to the purp of com-n) 4) manner(perspicuous,avoid amb&obs

8. Politeness. G.Leech – how P operates in conv-l exchanges. repr=ass, direct=impositive

Each maxim has a subM. Not all Ms are equally imp. Spks may adhere to > than 1M

1) tact M (impos&comss) – max ben to oth 2) generosity M (imp&com)-minbenself

3)approbation m (expr&rep) – max praise O4) modesty M (expr&rep)-minprself

5) agreement m (repr) – max agr self-oth 6) sympathy (repr) – max symp self-oth

9. PT – ways of showing status by orienting comments to o.s., to the other, or the general

or prevailing sit-n (in Eng – weather). 1) self-oriented (personal: I’m not up to this)

2) other-oriented (hearer: Do u work here?) 3) neutral (gen sit: Cold, isn’t it? Nice fl

Superior – other-oriented. Inferior – self-oriented (Queen – worker)

10. D. Levinson: the ways in which langs encode features of the context of the utterance.

“verbal pointing”, pointing by means of lang.

1) personal or possessive PNs; 2) demonstrative PNs

3) spatial/temporal advs (here/there/now) 4) other pro-forms (so/do)

5) pers or poss adjs (my/your) 6) demonst adjs (this/that)

7) articles (the)

11. Critisisms of pragm: doesn’t have clear-cut focus;its principles vague;redundant (sem)

Defence: illuminates social lang interactions; covers things that sem has overlooked;

can help teaching lang; new insights into lit-re & pers-to-pers interactions.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1422