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PRAGMATICS – George Yule

PRAGMATICS – George Yule. Source: S lideshare Presented by: J avad Rezazadeh M.A. in L anguage Teaching UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN. 1. DEFINITIONS AND BACKGROUND.

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PRAGMATICS – George Yule

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  1. PRAGMATICS – George Yule Source: Slideshare Presented by: JavadRezazadeh M.A. in Language Teaching UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN

  2. 1. DEFINITIONS AND BACKGROUND • “Thestudy of contextual meaningcommunicatedby a speaker orwriter, and interpretedby a listenerorreader.” (G.Yule) • “Thestudy of therelation of signstotheirinterpreters.” (Charles Morris) • “Thestudy of therelationsbetweenlinguisticforms and itsusers(…)Onlypragmaticsallowshumansintotheanalysis: theirassumptions, purposes, goals, and actionstheyperformwhilespeaking.” (G.Yule)

  3. PRAGMATICS IS… 1- THE STUDY OF SPEAKER MEANING WHAT PEOPLE MEAN bytheirutterancesratherthanwhatthewordsorphrasesmight mean bythemselves.

  4. 2- Thestudy of contextual meaning • Importance of the CONTEXT: thecircumstances and theaudienceorpublic.

  5. 3-The study of how more getscommunicatedthansaid. • TheINFERENCESmadebylistenersorreaders in ordertoarrive at aninterpretation of theintendedmeaning. • A greatdeal of whatisUNSAID isrecognized as part of whatiscommunicated. • Thestudy of “invisible meaning”

  6. 4-The study of theexpression of relativedistance • TheCLOSENESS orDISTANCE of thelistenerorreader determines howmuchneedstobesaid. Forexample: A: there is a store over there (Let‘s go inside) B: no (I don‘t want to go inside) A: why not? (why do you not want to go inside?) B: I‘m tired. (I don‘t want to because I‘m tired.)

  7. IN OTHER WORDS… PRAGMATICS studies HOW PEOPLE MAKE SENSE OF EACH OTHER LINGUISTICALLY. Forexample: A: So_ didyou? B: Hey_ whowouldn’t? Twofriends in a conversationmayimplysomethings and infersomeotherswithoutprovidinganyclearlinguisticevidence. So, pragmaticsrequiresustomakesense of whatpeoplehave in mind.

  8. REGULARITY • Luckily, peopletendtobehave in fairlyREGULARwayswhenit comes tousinglanguage. As part of social groupswefollow general expectedpatterns of behaviour. Forexample: “I foundanoldbike. Thechainwasrusted and thetyres flat”. Itwouldbepragmaticallyoddtosay: “I foundanoldbike. A bike has a chain. Thechainwasrusted. A bikeaslo has tyres. Thetyreswere flat.”

  9. 2.DEIXIS and DISTANCE • DEIXIS: “pointingvialangauge” Toaccomplishthispointingwe use deicticexpressionsorindexicals. i.e: “What’sthat?” (usedtoindicatesth. in theimmediatecontext.) Deicticexpressionsdependonthe speaker and hearersharingthesamespatialcontext, in face-tofacespokeninteraction.

  10. Types of indexicals • Person deixis: usedtopointpeople. (me, you) • Spatial deixis: usedtopointlocation (here, there). • Temporal dexis: usedtopointlocation in time (now, then). i.e: “I’llputthishere, ok?”

  11. PERSON DEIXIS There are 3 categories: • SPEAKER (I) • ADDRESSEE (YOU) • OTHERS (HE- SHE-IT- THEY) SOCIAL DEIXIS: formsusedtoindicaterelative social status. In manylanguagesdeicticcategoriesbecomemarkers of relative social status. HONORIFICS: expressionsthatmarkthattheaddresseeis of higher status.

  12. Examples of SOCIAL DEIXIS In Spanishthe“Tú”- “Usted” distinction. • Thechoice of oneformwillcommunicatesomething, notdirectlysaid, aboutthespeaker’sview of hisrelationwiththeaddressee. • Thehigher, older and more powerful speaker willtendto use the “tú” and viceversa. • Nowadays, theagedistinctionremains more powerfulthantheeconomicdistinction in manycountries.

  13. Usingthe 3rdpersonform • Communicatesdistance and non-familiarity. Also, it has anironicorhumorouspurpose. i.e: Wouldhishighnesslikesomecoffee? • Alsousedtomakeaccusations: “Somebodydidn’tclean up afterhimself” (lessdirectthan “Youdidn’tclean”

  14. SPATIAL DEIXIS FormsusedtopointtoLOCATION i.e: “Here” and “There” “Come” and “Go” PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE Whenspeakersmarkhowcloseordistantsomethingisperceivedtobe. i.e: “Thatmanoverthere” impliespsychologicaldistance. DEICTIC PROJECTION: whenspeakersact as ifthey are somewhereelse. i.e: “I´mnotherenow.” (telephoneanswering machine) Recordingis a performance for a futureaudience in which I project my presencetobe in therequiredlocation.

  15. TEMPORAL DEIXIS Formsusedtopointtolocationin time. i.e: “now” - “then” In contrasttonow, the distal expressionthenappliestobothpast and future time relativetothespeaker’spresent time. i.e: “I was in Scotlandthen” “I’llseeyouthen”

  16. DEIXIS AND GRAMMAR Thedistinctionsforperson, spatial, and temporal deixis can beseen at work in Englishgrammarstructuressuch as DIRECT and INDIRECT (reported)SPEECH. i.e: Are youplanningtobeherethisevening? – I askedher.

  17. REPORTED FORM • I askedherifshewasplaningtobetherethatevening There’ s a shiftfromthe “near speaker” meaning of directspeechtothe “awayfrom speaker” meaning of reportedspeech, withthe use of DISTAL DEICTIC forms.

  18. 3. REFERENCE AND INFERENCE REFERENCE: anact in which a speaker orwriter, uses linguisticformstoenable a listenerorreader, toidentifysomething. Words in themselves do notreferanything. Peoplerefer. REFERRING EXPRESSIONS: linguisticformslikepropernouns, definiteorindefinitenounphrases, and pronouns. Thechoice of onetype of theseexpressionsratherthananotherisbasedonwhatthe speaker assumesthelisteneralreadyknows.

  19. FOR EXAMPLE: “Look at him” (use of pronoun) “Thewoman in red” (definitearticle) “A womanwaslooking at you” (indefinitearticle and pronoun) • So, referenceistiedtothespeaker’sgoals and beliefsaboutthelistenerknowledge in the use of language.

  20. INFERENCE • Forsuccessfulreferencetooccur, wemustrecognizethe role of INFERENCE and COLLABORATION between speaker and listener in thinkingwhattheother has in mind. Sometimeswe use vague expressionsrelyingonthelistener’sabilitytoinferwhatreferentwehave in mind: i.e: “Thebluething”, “Thatstuff” Wesometimeseveninventnames.

  21. PRAGMATIC CONNECTION A conventionalassociationbetween a person’sname and a kind of objectwithin a socio-culturallydefinedcommunity. i.e: “Can I borrowyour Shakespeare?” “Picasso’sonthefarwall” Giventhecontext, theintended and inferredreferentisnot a personbutprobably a book.

  22. THE ROLE OF CO-TEXT Co- text: thelinguisticenvironment in which a wordisused. Theco-textclearlylimitsourrange of possibleinterpretationswemighthavefor a word. i.e: “BrazilwinsWorld Cup” Brazilwouldbethereferringexpression, and therest of thesentencetheco-text.

  23. CO- TEXT CONTEXT Thephysicalenvironment in which a wordisused. • Just a linguisticpart of theenvironment in which a referringexpressionisused.

  24. GUESS THE CONTEXT FOR THESE REFERRING EXPRESSIONS • “Your ten-thirtyjustcancelled.” • Theheart-attackmustn’tbe moved” • “A couple of roomshavecomplainedabouttheheat”

  25. ANAPHORIC REFERENCE Theexpressionsusedtomaintainreferencetosomethingorsomeonealreadymentioned. i.e: “A manwaslooking at us. Hethendisappeared.” Theinitialreferenceisoftenindefinite (A man…) and iscalledtheANTECEDENT. Thesubsequentreferenceisdefiniteor a prononun (He…) and iscalledANAPHORA.

  26. PRESENTACIÓN ODT

  27. 5. MAXIMS of the COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE 1- QUANTITY: Makeyourcontribution as INFORMATIVE as required. Do NOT makeit more informativethanrequired. 2-QUALITY Makeyourcontribution TRUE. Do NOT saywhatyoubelieveis false. Do NOT saythatforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.

  28. 3- RELATION: Be relevant. 4- MANNER: Be perspicuous: • Avoidobscurity of expression • Avoidambiguity. • Be brief (avoidunnecessaryprolixity) • Be orderly.

  29. Thesemaximsshouldberecognized as unstatedassumptionswehave in conversations However, there are certainexpressionsspeakers use tomarkthattheymaybe in danger of NOTfullyadheringtotheprinciples. HEDGES: cautious notes abouthowanutteranceshouldbetakenwhengivinginformation.

  30. EXAMPLES OF HEDGES: • Hedges of QUALITY: “ As far as I know, they’remarried.” “I maybemistaken, but I thought I saw a wedding ring onherfinger.” “I’mnotsureifthisisright, but I hearditwas a secretceremony.” “He couldn’tlivewithouther, I guess”

  31. HEDGES OF QUANTITY: “ As youprobablyknow,I’mterrified of bugs” “ So, tocut a longstory short, wegrabbedourstaff and run” “I won’t bore youwithallthedetails, butitwasanexcitingtrip”

  32. HEDGES OF RELEVANCE • “ I don’tknowifthisisimportant, but…” • “Thismaysoundlike a dumbquestion, but…” • Nottochangethesubject, but…” • “ Oh, bytheway…” • Well, anyway…”

  33. HEDGES OF MANNER “Thismaybe a bit confused, but…” “I’mnotsureifthismakessense, but…” “I don’tknowifthisisclear at all, but…”

  34. CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURE • Thebasicassumption in conversationisthat, otherwiseindicated, theparticipants are adheringtothecooperativeprinciple and themaxims. • Thefollowingexamples show a speaker conveying more than he saidviaconversationalimplicature

  35. a: “I hope youbroughtthe bread and cheese.” b: “Ah, I broughtthe bread.” • Speaker B assumesthat A infers thatwhatisnotmentionedwasnotbrought. a: “Do youlike ice-cream?” b: “Isthe Pope catholic?”

  36. CONVENTIONAL IMPLICATURES • In contrasttothepreviousimplicatures, theseones are NOTbasedonthecooperativeprinciple’smaxims. • They do NOThavetooccur in conversation and don’tdependonspecialcontextsforinterpretation. • They are associatedwithSPECIFIC WORDS and result in additionalconveyedmeanings.

  37. Forexample: theEnglishconjunctionsBUT and AND Theinterpretation of anyutterancewiththewordBUTwillimplyanimplicature of CONTRAST and withAND an ADDITION. “Mary suggestedblack, but I chosewhite”. • ThewordsEVEN and YET alsohaveconventionalimplicature. • Evenimpliescontrarytoexpectation. • Yetimpliesthatthepresentsituationisexpectedtobediffererent at a later time.

  38. 6. SPEECH ACTS and EVENTS • Actionsperformedviautterances are calledSpeechActs. In Englishthey are commonlyknown as: apology, compliment, complaint, invitation, promise, orrequestandapplytothespeaker’scommunicativeintention. • Thecircumstancessurroundingtheutterance are calledtheSpeechEventand it’stheirnaturethat determines theinterpretation of anutterance as performing a particular speechact.

  39. Forexample: “This tea isreallycold!” Thisutterance can beinterpreted as a complaintor as a praise, dependingonthecircumstances. (Ifitiswinterorsummer, a coldor a hotday, etc.)

  40. SPEECH ACTS 1- Thelocutionaryact: thebasicact of utterancewhich produces a meaningfullinguisticexpression. Ifyouhavedifficulty in producing a meaningfulutterance (becauseit’s a foreignlanguageoryou’retongue-tied), thenyoumightfailto produce a locutionaryact. Ahamokofa WHAT??

  41. 2. ILLOCUTIONARY ACT • Thecommunicativeforceof anutterance. Weformanutterancewithsomekind of function in mind: • Anoffer, a statement, a promise, a threat, etc. 3. THE PERLOCUTIONARY ACT: Theeffect of anutterance

  42. Takethenextutterance and statetheillocutionaryact/force. “ I’llseeyoulater”

  43. Thesamelocutionaryact can representdifferentillocutionaryforces: • A prediction • A warning • A promise

  44. How can the speaker assumethattheintendedillocutionaryforcewilberecognizedbythehearer? • IFIDs: IllocutionaryForceIndicatingDevices • FelicityConditions

  45. IFIDsFelicityConditions ThemostcommonIFIDs are performativeverbs: verbsthatexplicitlynametheillocutionaryactbeingperformed. i.e: “I promiseyouthat…” “I warnyouthat…” “I predictthat…” Certainexpectedorappropiatecircumstancesfor a speechacttoberecognized as intended. i.e: “ I sentenceyoutosixmonths of prison” Ifthe speaker wasn’t a judge in a court, this performance wouldbeinfelicitousorinappropiate.

  46. OTHER IFIDsOtherFelicityconditions • Word order • Stress • Intonation i.e: “You’regoing!” (I tellyou) “You’regoing?”( I requestconfirmation) “Are yougoing?”( I askyouif) • General Conditions:ontheparticipants, forexample, thatthey can understandthesamelanguage, and thattheyaren’tplay-actingorbeing non-sensical. • Content Conditions: forexample, a promisemustbeabout a futureevent.

  47. PreparatoryConditions: specificrequirements prior toanutterance in orderforittocount as a particular speechact. Sincerityconditions: requirementsonthegenuineintentions of a speaker. Forexample: for a promise, the speaker genuinelyintendstocarryoutthefutureaction.

  48. TheessentialCondition: A requirementthattheutterancecommitsthe speaker totheactperformed. Theutterancechanges my statefrom non-obligationtoobligation.

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