Chapter 8_language in use__ pragmatics
哈师大语言学chapter 8 pragmatics
3. Stable product 4. Analyze sentence in isolation
Bigger chunks of conversation Dynamic prysis & pragmatic analysis
Grammatical (sentence) Pragmatic (utterance)
1. units of linguistic system Instances of the system
2. Stop at sentence level
• Maggie: Coffee? • James: It would keep me awake all night.
• Linda: Have you finished the student evaluation forms and the reading lists? • Jean: I’ve done the reading lists.
Utterance
• Jane: Coffee? • Steve: Sure. • Jane: White? • Steve: Black.
Chapter 8 Language in Use语言的使用
semantic
pragmatics
1.What Is Pragmatics?
• It is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker or writer and interpreted by a listener or reader. • It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves. • A general definition of pragmatics is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.
• • • • • •
Prediction analysis: DOG(BARK);BAG(BEING HEAVY) An utterance In a certain situation with a certain purpose Some possible interpretations How to understand the sentences depends on the context in which it is uttered and the purpose for which the speaker utters it.
• 8.3.1 Relevance theory
Chapter8语言学
Chapter8语言学Chapter 8 Language in UseWhat is pragmatics? What’s the difference between pragmatics and semantics?Pragmatics is the study of the use of language in communication, particularly the relationships between sentences and the contexts and situations in which they are used. Pragmatics includes the study of(1) How the interpretation and use of utterances depends on knowledge of the real world;(2) How speakers use and understand speech acts;(3) How the structure of sentences is influenced by the relationship between the speakerand the hearer.Pragmatics is sometimes contrasted with semantics, which deals with meaning without reference to the users and communicative functions of sentences.8.1 Speech act theory8.1.1 Performatives and constatives1. Performative: In speech act theory an utterance which performs an act, suchas Watch out (= a warning).2. Constative: An utterance which asserts something that is either true or force.E.g. Chicago is in the United States.3. Felicity conditions of performatives:(1) There must be a relevant conventional procedure, and the relevantparticipants and circumstances must be appropriate.(2) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely.(3) Very often, the relevant people must have the requisite thoughts, feelingsand intentions, and must follow it up with actions as specified.8.1.2 A theory of the illocutionary act1. What is a speech act?A speech act is an utterance as a functional unit in communication. In speechact theory, utterances have two kinds of meaning.Propositional meaning (locutionary meaning): This is the basic literal meaning of the utterance which is conveyed by the particular words and structureswhich the utterance contains.Illocutionary meaning (illocutionary force): This is the effect the utterance or written text has on the reader or listener. E.g. in I’m thirsty, the propositionalmeaning is what the utterance says about the speaker’s physical state. Theillocutionary force is the effect the speaker wants the utterance to have on thelistener. It may be intended as request for something to drink.A speech act is asentence or utterance which has both propositional meaning and illocutionaryforce.A speech act which is performed indirectly is sometimes known as an indirectspeech act, such as the speech act of the requesting above. Indirect speech acts areoften felt to be more polite ways of performing certain kinds of speech act, such asrequests and refusals.2. Locutionary act: A distinction is made by Austin in the theory of speech actsbetween three different types of acts involved in or caused by the utterance ofa sentence. A locutionary act is the saying of something which is meaningfuland can be understood.3. Illocutionary act: An illocutionary act is using a sentence to perform afunction.4. Perlocutionary act: A perlocutionary act is the results or effects that areproduced by means of saying something.8.2 The theory of conversational implicature8.2.1 The cooperative principle1. The cooperative principle (CP)Cooperative principle refers to the “co-operation” between speakers in using the maxims during the conversation. There are four conversational maxims:(1) The maxim of quantity:a. Make your contribution as informative as required.b. Don’t make your contribution more informative than is required.(2) The maxim of quality: Try to make your contribution one that is true.a. Don’t say what you believe to be false.b. Don’t say that for which you lack adequate evidence.(3) The maxim of relation: Say things that are relevant.(4) The maxim of manner: Be perspicuous.a. Avoid obscurity of expression.b. Avoid ambiguity.c. Be brief.d. Be orderly.2. Conversational implicature: The use of conversational maxims to implymeaning during conversation is called conversational implicature.8.2.2 Violation of the maxims[In fact this is taken from one of my essays. Only for reference. ^_^ - icywarmtea]1. Conversational implicatureIn our daily life, speakers and listeners involved in conversation are generally cooperating with each other. In other words, when people are talking with eachother, they must try to converse smoothly and successfully. In accepting speakers’presuppositions, listeners have to assume that a speaker is not trying to misleadthem. This sense of cooperation is simply one in which people having aconversation are not normally assumed to be trying to confuse, trick, or withholdrelevant information from one another.However, in real communication, the intention of the speaker is often not the literal meaning of what he or she says. The real intention implied in the words iscalled conversational implicature. For example:[1] A: Can you tell me the time?B: Well, the milkman has come.In this little conversation, A is asking B about the time, but B is not answering directly. That indicates that B may also not no the accurate time, but throughsaying “the milkman has come”, he is in fact giving a rough time. T he answer Bgives is related to the literal meaning of the words, but is not merely that. That isoften the case in communication. The theory of conversational implicature is forthe purpose of explaining how listeners infer the speakers’ intention through thewords.2. The CPThe study of conversational implicature starts from Grice (1967), the American philosopher. He thinks, in daily communication, people are observing aset of basic rules of cooperating with each other so as to communicate effectivelythrough conversation. He calls this set of rules the cooperative principle (CP)elaborated in four sub-principles (maxims). That is the cooperative principle.We assume that people are normally going to provide an appropriate amount of information, i.e. they are telling the relevant truth clearly. The cooperativeprinciple given by Grice is an idealized case of communication.However, there are more cases that speakers are not fullyadhering to the principles. But the listener will assume that the speaker is observing the principles“in a deeper degree”. For example:[2] A: Where is Bill?B: There is a yellow car outside Sue’s house.In [2], the speaker B seems to be violating the maxims of quantity and relation, but we also assume that B is still observing the CP and think about the relationshipbetween A’s question and the “yellow car” in B’s answer. If Bill has a yellow car,he may be in Sue’s house.If a speaker violate CP by the principle itself, there is no conversation at all, so there cannot be implicature. Implicature can only be caused by violating one ormore maxims.3. Violation of the CP(1) The people in conversation may violate one or more maxims secretly. Inthis way, he may mislead the listener.For this case, in the conversation [2] above, we assume that B is observing the CP and Bill has a yellow car. But if B is intentionally trying tomislead A to think that Bill is in Sue’s house, we will be misled without knowing. In this case, if one “lies” in conversation, there is no implicature in the conversation, only the misleading.(2) He may declare that he is not observing the maxims or the CP.In this kind of situation, the speaker directly declares he is not cooperating. He has made it clear that he does not want togo on with the conversation, so there is no implicature either.(3) He may fall into a dilemma.For example, for the purpose observing the first principle of the maxim of quantity (make your contribution as informative as is required), he may be violating the second principle of the maxim of quality (do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence).For this case, Grice gave an example:[3] A: Where does C live?B: Somewhere in the south of France.In [3], if B knows that A is going to visit C, his answer is violating the maxim of quantity, because he is not giving enough information about where C lives. But he has not declared that he will not observe the maxims. So we can know that B knows if he gives more information, he will violate the principle “do not say that for which you lack ad equate evidence”. In other words, he has fallen into a “dilemma”. So we can infer that his implicature is that he does not know the exact address of C. In this case, there is conversational implicature.(4) He may “flout” one or more maxims. In other w ord s, he may beobviously not observing them.The last situation is the typical case that can make conversational implicature. Once the participant in a conversation has made an implicature, he or she is making use one of the maxims. We can see that from the following examples:[4] A: Where are you going with the dog?B: To the V-E-T.In [4], the dog is known to be able to recognize the word “vet” and to hate being taken there. Therefore, A makes theword spelled out. Here he is “flouting” the maxim of mann er, making the implicature that he does not want the dog to know the answer to the question just asked.[5] (In a formal get-together)A: Mrs. X is an old bag.B: The weather has been quite delightful this summer, hasn’t it?B is intentionally violating the maxim of relation in [5], implicating thatwhat A has said is too rude and he should change a topic.8.2.3 Characteristics of implicature1. Calculability2. Cancellability / defeasibility3. Non-detachability4. Non-conventionality8.3 Post-Gricean developments8.3.1 Relevance theoryThis theory was formally proposed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson in their book Relevance: Communication and Cognition in 1986. They argue that all Griceanmaxims, including the CP itself, should be reduced to a single principle of relevance,which is defined as: Every act of ostensive communication communicates thepresumption of its own optimal relevance.8.3.2 The Q- and R-principlesThese principles were developed by L. Horn in 1984. The Q-principle is intended to i nvoke the first maxim of Grice’s Quantity, and the R-principle the relation maxim,but the new principles are more extensive than the Griceanmaxims.The definition of the Q-principle (hearer-based) is:(1) Make your contribution sufficient (cf. quantity);(2) Say as much as you can (given R).The definition of the R-principle (speaker-based) is:(1) Make your contribution necessary (cf. Relation, Quantity-2, Manner);(2) Say no more than you must (given Q)8.3.3 The Q-, I- and M-principlesThis tripartite model was suggested by S. Levinson mainly in his 1987 paper Pragmatics and the Grammar of Anaphor: A Partial Pragmatic Reduction of Bindingand Control Phenomena. The contents of these principles are: Q-principle:Speaker’s maxim: Do not provide a statemen t that is informationally weaker than your knowledge of the world allows, unless providing a stronger statement wouldcontravene the I-principle.Recipient’s corollary: Take it that the speaker made the strongest statement consistent with what he knows, and therefore that:(1) If the speaker asserted A (W), and form a Horn scale, such that A (S) ||(A (W)), then one can infer K ~ (A (S)), i.e. that the speaker knows that the strongerstatement would be false.(2) If the speaker asserted A (W) and A (W) fails to entail an embedded sentenceQ, which a stronger statement A (S) would entail, and {S, W} form a contrast set, thenone can infer ~ K (Q), i.e. the speaker does not know whether Q obtains or not.I-principleSpeaker’s maxim: the maxim of minimizationSay as little as necessary, i.e. produce the minimal linguistic information sufficient to achieve your communicational ends.Recipient’s corollary: the enrichment ruleAmplify the informational content of the speaker’s utterance, by finding the most specific interpretation, up to what you judge to be the speaker’s m-intended point.M-principleSpeaker’s maxim: Do not use a prolix, obscure or marked expression without reason.Recipient’s corollary: If the speaker used a prolix or marked expression M, he did not mean the same as he would have, had he used the unmarked expression U –specifically he was trying to avoid the stereotypical associations and I-implicatures of U.。
胡壮麟《语言学教程》分章试题
Chapter 8 Language in Use1. What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study ofmeaning ___D______ is considered.A. referenceB. speech actC. practical usageD. co nte xt2. A sentence is a ______B___ concept, and the meaning of a sentence is often studied inisolation. A. pragmatic B. grammatical C. mental D. co nce p tual3. If we think of a sentence as what people actually utter in the course of communication,it becomes a (n) ___C______.A. constativeB. directiveC. utteranceD. e xp re ssive4. Which of the following is true?√ A. Utterances usually do not take the form of sentences.B. Some utterances cannot be restored to complete sentences.C. No utterances can take the form of sentences.√ D. All utterances can be restored to complete sentences.5. Speech act theory did not come into being until ____A______.A. in the late 50’s of the 20the centuryB. in the early 1950’sC. in the late 1960’sD. in the early 21st century6. ___C_______ is the act performed by or resulting fro m saying something; it is the consequence of, or the change brought about by the utterance.A. A locutionary actB. An illocutionary actC. A perlocutionary actD. A performative act7. According to Searle, the illocutionary point of the representative is ___B___.A. to get the hearer to do somethingB. to commit the speaker to something’s being the caseC. to commit the speaker to some future course of actionD. to express the feelings or attitude towards an existing state of affairs8. All the acts that belong to the sam e category share the same p urp ose, b ut they differ ___A__C_____.A. in their illocutionary actsB. in their intentions expressedC. in their strength or forceD. in their effect brought about9. _____A_____ is advanced by Paul GriceA. Cooperative PrincipleB. Politeness PrincipleC. The General Principle of Universal GrammarD. Adjacency Principle10. When any of the maxims under the cooperative principle is flouted, __D_____ might arise.A. impolitenessB. contradictionsC. mutual understandingD. conversational implicaturesII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. F Pragmatics treats the meaning of language as something intrinsic and inherent.12.T It would be impossible to give an adequate description of meaning if the context of language use was left unconsidered.13.T What e sse ntially d isting uishe s se m antics and p rag m atics is whe the r in the stud y o fmeaning the context of use is considered.14. F The m ajor d ifference b etween a sentence and an utterance is that a sentence isnot uttered while an utterance is.15.F The meaning of a sentence is abstract, but context-dependent.16.F The meaning of an utterance is decontexualized, therefore stable.17T. F Utterances always take the form of complete sentences18. F Speech act theory was originated with the British philosopher John Searle.19.T Speech act theory started in the late 50’s of the 20th century.20.T Austin made the distinction between a constative and a performative.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. The notion of ___context_______ is essential to the pragmatic study of language.22. If we think o f a sentence as what people actually utter in the course o f communication, it becomes an ___utterance_______.23. The meaning of a sentence is __abstrac t________, and decontexualized.24. _Constative_________ were statem ents that either state or d escrib e, and were thus verifiable.25. __Perfo rm ative_______ were sentences that d id no t state a fact o r d escrib e a state,and were not verifiable.26. A(n) __locuionary________ act is the act of uttering words, phrases, clauses. It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon and phonology.27. A(n) ___illocutionary_______ act is the act o f e xp re ssing the sp e ake r’s inte ntio n; it isthe act performed in saying something.28. A(n) __commisive_______ is commit the speaker himself to some future course o f action.29. A(n) __expressive______ is to express feelings or attitude towards an existing state.30. There are four maxims under the cooperative principle: the maxim o f ____quantity______, the maxim of quality, the maxim of relation and the maxim of manner.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. Conversational implicature32. Performative33. Locutionary act34. Q-principle (Horn)Ke y: Chapter8I. 1~5 DBCBA 6~10 CBCADII. 11~15 FTTFF 16~20 FFFTTIII. 21.context 22.utterance 23.abstract 24. Constatives25. Performatives 26. locutionary27. illocutionary 28. commissive 29. expressive 30. quantityChapter 12 Theories and Schools of Modern LinguisticsI. Choose the best answer. (20%)1. The p e rso n wh o is o fte n d e scrib e d as “fath e r o f m o d e rn lin g u istics” is __B________..A. FirthB. SaussureC. HallidayD. Cho m sky2. The m o st im p o rtant co ntrib utio n o f the Prag ue Scho o l to ling uistics is that it seeslanguage in terms of ___A_______.A. functionB. meaningC. signsD. syste m3. The principal representative of American descriptive linguistics is _______C__.A. BoasB. SapirC. BloomfieldD. Harris4. Generally sp eaking, the _____A_____ sp ecifies whether a certain tag m em e is in the position of the Nucleus or of the Margin in the structure.A. SlotB. ClassC. RoleD. Co he sio n5. _____A_____ Gram m ar is the m o st wid esp read and the b est und ersto o d m etho d o f discussing Indo-European languages.A. Trad itio nalB. StructuralC. FunctionalD. Ge ne rative6. ____A______ Gram m ar starte d fro m the Am e rican ling uist Syd ne y M. Lam b in the late 1950s and the early 1960s.A. StratificationalB. CaseC. RelationalD. Mo n tag u e7. In Hallid ay’s view, the _____B_____ function is the function that the child uses to know about his surroundings.A. personalB. heuristicC. imaginativeD. info rm ative8. The rheme in the sentence “On it stood Jane” is _____D_____.A. On itB. stoodC. On it stoodD. Jan e9. Chomsky follows _____C_____ in philosophy and mentalism in psychology.A. empiricismB. behaviorismC. relationalismD. m e ntalism10. TG grammar has seen _____C_____ stages of development.A. threeB. fourC. fiveD. sixII. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. (10%)11. F Following Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole, Trubetzkoy argued that phonetics belonged to langue whereas phonology belonged to parole.12. F The subject-predicate distinction is the same as the theme and rheme contrast.13. T London School is also known as systemic linguistics and functional linguistics.14.T According to Firth, a system is a set of mutually exclusive options that come into play at some point in a linguistic structure.15.F American Structuralism is a branch o f diachronic linguistics that emerged independently in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century.16.F The Stan d ard Theo ry focuses discussion on language universals and universalg ram m ar.17.T American descriptive linguistics is empiricist and focuses on diversities o f languages.18.T Cho m sky’s co nce p t o f ling uistic p e rfo rm ance is sim ilar to Saussure’s co nce p t o fp aro le, while his u se o f lin g u istic co m p e te n ce is so m e what d iffe re n t fro m Sau ssu re’s lan g u e.19.T Glo sse m atics e m p hasize s the nature and status o f ling uistic the o ry and its re latio nto description.20. F If two sentences have exactly the same ideational and interpersonal functions, they would be the same in terms of textual coherence.III. Fill in the blanks. (20%)21. The Prague School practiced a special style of ___synchronic _______ Linguistics.22. The Prague School is best known and re m e m b e re d for its contribution to phonology and the distinction between __phonetics________ and phonology.23. The man who turned linguistics proper into a recognized distinct academic subject in Britain was _____Mathesius__﹙×﹚_J.R Firth_.24. Hallid ay’s Systemic Grammar contains a functional component, and the theory behind his Functional Grammar is ______systemic ___.25. Systemic-Functional Grammar is a(n) ___socially_sociogically______ orientedfunctional linguistic approach.26. Structuralism is b ased on the assum p tion that g ram m atical categ ories should b edefined not in terms of meaning but in terms of ___stucture___ distribution ____.27. In the history of Am erican ling uistics, the p eriod b etween 1933 and 1950 is also known as __Bloomfieldian________ Age.28. Descriptivism__________ in language theories is characteristic of America.29. The starting point o f Cho m sky’s TG grammar is his ____innateness______ hypothesis.30. Chomsky argues that LAD p ro b ab ly consists o f three elements, that is a __hypothesis maker________, linguistic universal, and an evaluation procedure.IV. Explain the following terms, using examples. (20%)31. FSP32. Cohesion33. LAD34. Case GrammarKe y: Chapter12I.1~5 BACAA 6~10 ABDCCII.11~15 FFTTF 16~20 FTTTFIII.21. synchronic 22. phonetics23. J. R. Firth 24. systemic25. sociologically 26. distribution27. Bloomfieldian 28. Descriptivism29. innateness 30. hypothesis-makerIV.31. FSP: It stands for Functional Sentence Pe rsp e ctive. It is a theory o f linguistic analysis which refers to an analysis o f utterances (o r texts) in term s o f the info rm atio n theycontain.＊32. Co hesio n: The Co hesio n sho ws whether a certain tag m em e is d o m inating o ther tagmemes or is dominated by others.33. LAD: LAD, that is Language Acquisition Device, is posited by Chomsky in the 1960s as a d evice effectively p resent in the m ind s o f child ren b y which a g ram m ar o f their nativelanguage is constructed.＊34. Case Gram m ar: It is an ap p roach that stresses the relationship of elem ents in a sentence. It is a type of generative grammar developed by C. J. Fillmore in the late 1960s。
Chapter 8 Pragmatics 语用学 语言学教程 胡壮麟.ppt
(c) The room was wanted for a meeting.
பைடு நூலகம்
(2) I can’t work under untidy circumstances.
are acts.
8.1.1 Performatives and constatives Austin (How to Do Things with Words,
1962) Consider these sentences: a) I name this ship Elizabeth. b) I bequeath my watch to my brother. c) I now pronounce you man and wife. d) I bet you sixpence it will rain
A. (i) There must be a relevant conventional procedure, and
(ii) the relevant participants and circumstances must be appropriate.
B. The procedure must be executed (i) correctly and (ii) completely.
Possible contexts:
(a) A request to someone to tidy up the circumstances.
(b) It was an excuse for not wanting to do something there.
胡壮麟《语言学教程》笔记第8-9章
Chapter 8 Language in Use1. 语义学与语用学的区别1.1 语用学（Pragmatics）Pragmatics is the study of the use of language in communication, particularly the relationships between sentences and the contexts and situations in which they are used.（语用学是研究语言实际运用的学科，集中研究说话人意义、话语意义或语境意义。
）1.2 区别Pragmatics is sometimes contrasted with semantics, which deals with meaning without reference to the users and communicative functions of sentences.（语用学主要研究在特定的语境中说话人所想要表达的意义，语义学研究的句子的字面意义，通常不考虑语境。
）2. 合作原则及其准则（Herbert Paul Grice）2.1. 合作原则(Cooperative Principle)说话人经常在话语中传达着比话语表层更多的信息，听话人也能够明白说话人所要表达的意思。
格莱斯认为一定存在一些管理这些话语产生和理解的机制。
他把这种机制称作合作原则。
2.2. 准则(maxims)数量准则(quantity)①使你的话语如（交谈的当前目的）所要求的那样信息充分。
②不要使你的话语比要求的信息更充分。
质量准则(quality)设法使你的话语真实①不要讲明知是虚假的话②不要说没证据的话关系准则(relation)所谈内容要密切相关方式准则(manner)要清晰。
①避免含糊不清②避免歧义③要简练（避免冗长）④要有序3. 言语行为理论（Speech Act Theory）---John Austin3.1. 施为句&叙事句(Performatives & Constatives)施为句是用来做事的，既不陈述事实，也不描述情况，且不能验证真假；叙事句要么用于陈述，要么用于验证，可以验证真假。
Chapter 8 Language in Use语用学
I promise to love you!
I fire you!
When uttering the above sentences, the speaker is actually doing something, instead of stating or describing something. Besides the conventionalized cases, the idea of performing certain acts while speaking can be broadened to include non-conventional acts such as promising, requesting and suggesting.
do not state a fact or describe a state, and are not verifiable.
Some Examples of Performatives “I do.” “I name this ship Elizabeth.” “I give and bequeath my watch to my
If we divide meaning into two major sides: the side more closely related to the words used, the more constant, inherent side of meaning (which is studied under the heading of semantics) and the side more closely related to the context, the more indeterminate side, or something extra (which is studied under the heading of pragmatics), then we can say pragmatics =meaning-semantics.
现代英语语言学理论 CHAPTER 8
Pragmatics may be defined as the study of meaning. The word meaning may have many different meanings. In semantics, meaning depends more on who the speaker of the sentence is, who the hearer is, when and where it is used. Meaning depends more on the context.
8.2 Speech Act Theory
This theory originated with the Oxford philosopher John Langshaw Austin. In 1955, when he went to America to deliver the William James lectures, he revised the notes and changed the title from Words and Deeds to How to Do Things with Words, which was published posthumously in 1962.
8.1 Pragmatics
Or rather, you do know the speaker’s intention, but you want to use “What do you mean?” as a denial of what he has asserted. This kind of meaning is sometimes referred to as SPEAKER’S MEANING, UTTERANCE MEANING, or CONTEXTUAL MEANING. The discipline, which concentrates on this kind of meaning, is called PRAGMATICS.
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Context
Linguistic Knowledge
what has been said before
Extra-linguistic Knowledge
language
Background
Situational
(1)
The origin of pragmatics
(1) 1930‟s---American Philosopher C. Morris and R. Carnap (2) 1950‟s --- the British Philosopher J.L. Austin (3) the mid of the 20th Century, Journal of Pragmatics, an independent science.
Chapter Eight Language in Use
By ZHANG Mingfang HEBUST
Outline
I. A brief introduction of pragmatics II. Austin‟s Speech Act Theory III. Searle‟s Indirect Speech Act Theory IV. Grice‟s Cooperative Principle V. Leech‟s Politeness Principle
1.1 Definition of pragmatics
Pragmatics is the study of linguistic acts and contexts in which they are performed. (Stalnaker, 1972:383) (2) Pragmatics is a theory which seeks to characterize how speakers use the sentences of a language to effect successful communication. (Kempson, 1975:84) (3) (3) pragmatics is the study of language use and linguistic communication. (Akmajian, 1979:267) (4) Pragmatics can be defined as the study of how utterances have meanings in situations. (Leech, 1983: x) (5) Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader). (Yule, 1996:3) The study of language in use or context.
Felicity conditions: A. (i) There must be a relevant conventional procedure. (ii) the relevant participants and circumstances must be appropriate. B. The procedure must be executed correctly and completely. C. Very often, the relevant people must have the requisite thoughts, feelings and intentions, and must follow it up with actions as specified.
Exactly as in the reality of spoken or written languages, a word without linguistic context is a mere figment and stands for nothing by itself, so in the reality of a spoken living tongue, the utterance has no meaning except in the context of situation. (Malinowski 1923: 307)
I promise to be there. I admit I was wrong. I warn you, this gun is loaded. I thank you. I apologize. I order you to sit down. I name… I welcome… I appoint your…
What do you mean by X? Utterance: sth a speaker utters in a certain situation with a certain purpose Utterance meaning: concrete, contextdependent Speakers’ meaning Contextual meaning
II. Speech Act Theory---J. Austin
1）Words and Deeds 《言与行》（1952） 2）How to Do Things with Words 《如何以言行事》（1962） We are performing various kinds of acts when we are speaking. （Q1）
Linguistic context
Mental context
Physical context Social context
Use of language
3. Sentence meaning VS. Utterance meaning
What does X mean? Sentence: a grammatical concept, abstract, self-contained unit in isolation from context Sentence meaning: abstract, intrinsic property, decontexualized
1.2 Semantics vs. Pragmatics
Semantics
Context considered Context unconsidered
Pragmatics
Traditional semantics
Synchronic Model of Language
I. A brief introduction of Pragmatics
Explain the following utterances: (1) I’ll be there in half an hour. (2) A: I have a fourteen-year-old son. B: Well that’s all right. A: I also have a dog. B: Oh I’m sorry.
2.1 Performative theory
Constatives (言有所述）: sentences
which describe things (True or False)
Performatives (言有所为): sentences
which do not describe things, but the utterance of the sentences is the doing of an action.
Physical World Social World Mental World
U ---- I Production choice Interpretation choice
Channel (Linguistic context)
A: I have a fourteen-year-old son. B: Well that’s all right. A: I also have a dog. B: Oh I’m sorry.
Mutual
Common sense
time place Subject formality Participant relationship
Social norms
Conversation rules
Verschueren, understanding pragmatics, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. 2000: 76-114.
Performatives are sentences used to perform such functions as promising, naming, warning, inviting, requesting, ordering and asking etc.
I name this ship Queen Elizabeth.
apologize/ declare/ warn
(2) Passive pattern of “I+VP”
Passengers are requested to cross the line by the footbridge only.
Minister: addressing the groom (Groom‟s Name), do you take (Bride‟s Name) for your lawful wedded wife, to live together after God‟s ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live? XXX，你是否愿意娶xxx为妻，按照圣经的教训与她同住， 在神面前和她结为一体，爱她、安慰她、尊重她、保护 他，像你爱自己一样。不论她生病或是健康、富有或贫 穷，始终忠於她，直到离开世界？ Groom: I do.