语言学第六章笔记和习题1

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Chapter 6

Pragmatics

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---- the study of language in use or language communication; the study of the use of context to make inference about

meaning.

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---- the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication.

What are the differences between the two linguistic studies of meaning

–

semantics and pragmatics?

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Semantics

studies

literal,

structural

or

lexical

meaning,

while

pragmatics

studies

non-literal,

implicit,

intended meaning, or speaker

’

s meaning.

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Semantics

is

context

independent,

decontextualized,

while

pragmatics

is

context

dependent,

contextualized.

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Semantics deals with what is said, while pragmatics deals with what is implicated or inferred.

What

essentially

distinguish

semantics

and

pragmatics

is

whether

in

the

study

of

meaning

the

context

of

use

is

considered

If it is not, it is semantics.

If it is, it is pragmatics.

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Pragmatic analysis of meaning is first and foremost concerned with the study of what is communicated by

a speaker/writer and interpreted by a listener/reader.

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Analysis

of

intentional

meaning

necessarily

involves

the

interpretation

of

what

people

do

through

language in a particular context.

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Intended

meaning

may

or

may

not

be

explicitly

expressed.

Pragmatic

analysis

also

explores

how

listeners/readers make inferences about what is communicated.

Some basic notions in Pragmatics

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Context

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Pragmatics vs. semantics

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Sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning

Context

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Context---- a basic concept in the study of pragmatics. It is generally considered as constituted knowledge shared by

the speaker and the hearer, such as cultural background, situation(time, place, manner, etc.), the relationship between

the speaker and the hearer, etc.….

Pragmatics vs. semantics

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Semantics---- is the study of the literal meaning of a sentence (without taking context into consideration).

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Pragmatics---- the study of the intended meaning of a speaker (taking context into consideration), e.g.

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“Today is Sunday”, semantically, it means that today is the first day of the week; pragmatic

ally, you can mean a lot

by saying this, all depending on the context and the intention of the speaker, say, making a suggestion or giving an

invitation…

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Sentence meaning vs. utterance meaning

---- Sentence meaning:

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Abstract and context- independent meaning;

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literal meaning of a sentence;

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having a dyadic relation as in:

What does X mean?

----utterance meaning:

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concrete and context- dependent meaning;

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intended meaning of a speaker;

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having a triadic relation as in:

What did you mean by X?

For example,

“The bag is heavy”

can mean

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a bag being heavy (sentence meaning);

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an indirect, polite request, asking the hearer to help him carry the bag;

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the speaker is declining someone’

s request for help.

The dog is barking.

If we take it as a grammatical unit and consider it as a self- contained unit in isolation, then we treat it as a sentence.

If we take it as something a speaker utters in a certain situation with a certain purpose, then we are treating it as an

utterance.

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Note: The meaning of an utterance is based on the sentence meaning; it is the realization of the abstract meaning of a

sentence

in

a

real

situation

of

communication,

or

simply

in

a

context;

utterance

meaning

is

richer

than

sentence

meaning; it is identical with the purpose for which the speaker utters the sentence.

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Speech acts is a term derived from the work of the philosopher J. Austin (1962) and now used to refer to a theory

which

analyzes

the

role

of

utterances

in

relation

to

the

behavior

of

the

speaker

and

the

hearer

in

interpersonal

communicat

ion. It aims to answer the question “What do we do when using language?”

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In linguistic communication, people do not merely exchange information. They actually do something through talking

or writing in various circumstances. Actions performed via speaking are called speech acts.

Two types of utterances

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Constatives (

叙述句

) ---- statements that either state or describe, and are thus verifiable;

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Performatives (

施为句

) ---- sentences that do not state a fact or describe a state, and are not verifiable.

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Note:

Sometimes

they

are

easy

to

get

confused,

e.g.

“It

is

raining

outside”

can

be

a

constative,

and

also

a

performative, for by uttering such a sentence, we may not only state a fact, but involve in the act of informing someone

about the rain.

Some Examples of Performatives

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“I do”

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“I name this ship Elizabeth.”

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“I give and bequeath my watch to my brother.”

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“I bet you sixpence it will rain tomorrow.”

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“I declare the meeting open.”

Austin’s new model of speech acts

----

According

to

Austin’s

new

model,

a

speaker

migh

t

be

performing

three

acts

simultaneously

when

speaking:

locutionary act, illocutionary act and perlocutionary act.

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The locutionary act

----an act of saying something,uttering words, phrases,clauses, i.e. an act of making a meaningful

utterance (literal meaning of an utterance);

It is the act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon and phonology.

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The illocutionary act

----an act performed in saying something: in saying X, I was doing Y (the intention of the speaker

while speaking).

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The perlocutionary act

----an act performed as a result of saying something: by saying X and doing Y, I did Z.

It is the consequence of, or the change brought about by the utterance.

For example,

“It is cold here.”

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Its locutionary act is the saying of it with its literal meaning the weather is clod here;

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Its illocutionary act can be a request of the hearer to shut the window;

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Its perlocutionary act can be the hearer’s shutting the window or his refusal to comply with the request.

----Analyze one more example:

“You have left the door wide open.”

Note: Of the three acts, what speech act theory is most concerned with is the illocutionary act. It attempts to account

for the ways by which speakers can mean more than what they say.

Analyze the illocutionary acts of the following conversation between a couple:

----(the telephone rings)

----H:

That’ the phone. (1)

----W:

I’m in the bathroom. (2)

----H:

Okay. (3)

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This

seemingly

incoherent

conversation

goes

on

successfully

because

the

speakers

understand

each

other’s

illocutionary acts:

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(1)

Making a request of his wife to go and answer the phone.

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(2)

A refusal to comply with the request; issuing a request of her husband to answer the phone instead.

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(3)

Accepting the wife’s refusal and accepting her request, meaning

“all right, I’ll answer it.”

Linguists are more concerned about or interested in

illocutionary act.

The classification of illocutionary act made by American philosopher- linguist

John Searle.

Searle’s classification of speech acts (1969)

< br>?

Assertives/representatives(

< br>陈述

)

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.

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Directives(

指令

)

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Commi ssives(

承诺

)

Expressives(

表达

)

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Declarati ons(

宣布

)

Assertives/representatives

---- Stating or describing, saying what the speaker believes to be true, e.g.

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I think the film is moving.

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I’m certain I have never seen the m

an before.

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I solemnly swear that he had got it.

…

Directives

---- Trying to get the hearer to do something, e.g.

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I order you to leave right now.

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Open the window, please.

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Your money or your life!

…

Commissives

---- Committing the speaker himself to some future course of action, e.g.

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I promise to come.

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I will bring you the book tomorrow without fail.

…

Expressives

----

Expressing the speaker’s psychological state about something, e.g.

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I’m sorry for being late.

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I apologize for the sufferings that the war has caused to your people.

…

Declarations

----Bringing about an immediate change in the existing state or affairs, e.g.

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I now appoint you chairman of the committee.

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You are fired.

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I now declare the meeting open.

…

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Note: (1) All the acts that belong to the same category share the same purpose but differ in their strength or force,

e.g.

I guess / am sure / swear he is the murderer.

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Note: (2) In order to get someone open the door, we can choose one from a variety of the forms in below:

Could you open the door, please!

Can you open the door!

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Do you mind opening the door?

Open the door!

The door please!

Principle of conversation (Paul Grice)

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Cooperative

principle

(CP

)----

According

to

Grice,

in

making

conversation,

there

is

a

general

principle

which

all

participants are expected to observe. It goes as follows:

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Make your conversational contribution such as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or

direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.

Four

maxims of CP

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The maxim of quality

----Do not say what you believe to be false.

----Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

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The maxim of quantity

----Make your contribution as informative as required for the current purpose of the exchange.

----Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

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The maxim of relation

The maxim of manner

----Be relevant ( make your contribution relevant).

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----Avoid obscurity of expression.

----Avoid ambiguity.

----Be brief.

----Be orderly.

Significance

: it explains how it is possible for the speaker to convey more than is literary said.

CP is nearly always observed, while these maxims are not, which gives rise to “Conversational implicatures”, i.e. the

language becomes indirect.

Conversational implicature

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In real communication, however, speakers do not always observe these maxims strictly. These maxims can be violated

for various reasons. When any of the maxims is blantantly violated, i.e. both the speaker and the hearer are aware of the

violation, our language becomes indirect, then conversational implicature arises.

Violation of Maxim of quality

----A:

Would you like to go movie with me tonight?

----B:

The final exam is approaching. I’m afraid I have to prepare for it.

----A:

would you like to come to our party tonight?

-

---B:

I’m afraid I’m not feeling so well tonight.

----A:

Who was that lady I saw you with last night?

----B:

That was no lady, that was my wife.

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Violation of maxim of quantity

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At a party a young man introduces himself by saying

“I’m Robert Sampson from Leeds, 28, unmarried…”

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“War is war.”

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“Girls are girls.”

----A:

When is Susan’s farewell party?

----B:

Sometime next month.

Violation of maxim of relation

----A:

How did the math exam go today, Jonnie?

----B:

We had a basketball match with class 2 and we beat them.

----A:

The hostess is an awful bore.

----B:

The roses in the garden are beautiful, aren’t they?

----A:

What time is it?

----B:

The postman has just arrived.

Violation of maxim of manner

----A: Shall we get something for the kids?

----B: Yes. But I veto I-C-E-C-R-E- A-M.

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本章重点难点：

Types of speech acts

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Locutionary speech act

–

the action of making the sentence

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Illocutionary speech act

–

the intentions

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Perlocutionary speech act

–

the effects

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Of these dimensions, the most important is the illocutionary act.

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In

linguistic

communication

people

respond

to

an

illocutionary

act

of

an

utterance,

because

it

is

the

meaning intended by the speaker.

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If a teacher says, “I have run out of chalk” in the process of lectur

ing, the act of saying is locutionary,

the

act

of

demanding

for

chalk

is

illocutionary,

and

the

effect

the

utterance

brings

about

–

one

of

the

students will go and get some chalk

–

is perlocutionary.

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In English, illocutionary acts are also given specific labels, such as request, warning, promise, invitation,

compliment, complaint, apology, offer, refusal, etc. these specific labels name various speech functions.

Supplementary Exercises

I.

Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False:

1.

Both semantics and pragmatics study how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication

2.

Pragmatics treats the meaning of language as something intrinsic and inherent.

3.

It

would

be

impossible

to

give

an

adequate

description

of

meaning

if

the

context

of

language

use

was

left

unconsidered.

4.

What essentially distinguishes semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study of meaning the context of use is

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considered.

5.

The major difference between a sentence and an utterance is that a sentence is not uttered while an utterance is.

6.

The meaning of a sentence is abstract, but context-dependent.

7.

The meaning of an utterance is decontexualized, therefore stable.

8.

Utterances always take the form of complete sentences

9.

Speech act theory was originated with the British philosopher John Searle.

10.

Speech act theory started in the late

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