英語語言學課件lecture six

1、Lecture SixPragmaticsIntroductionDefinitions: Pragmatics is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication. It studies the following topics: deixis (指示功能), speech acts, indirect language, conversation, politeness, cross-cultural communication, and presupposi

2、tion. (Dai & He, 2002, p. 84)Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning, contextual meaning, how more gets communicated than is said, the expression of relative distance. (Yule, 2000, p. 3)The origin Semantics Context considered Context unconsidered Pragmatics Traditional semantics Context Speaker A

3、 Speaker BKnowledge of languageWhat has been said beforeKnowledge about the worldKnowledge about the situationKnowledge about each otherExample: A suggestionToday is Sunday. Demand Request (He, 1988, pp. 3-4)Sentence and utteranceThe relation: Meaning of a sentence is abstract and decontextualized w

4、hile meaning of an utterance is concrete and context-dependent. The meaning of an utterance is based on a sentence meaning and the realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication.Example: My bag is heavy. (utterance meaning: a statement, indirect or polite requ

5、est, declining someones request for help)Speech act theoryAustins model of speech actsSpeech act theory: a philosophical explanation of the nature of linguistic communication. It aims to answer this question: “What do we do when using language?”Austins three speech acts: Traditional philosophers vie

6、w: true value, state a fact or describe a state of affairs Austins “constatives” (述事話語) and “performatives” (行事話語) (Austins classical examples: assuring marriage, naming, bequeathing and betting) Three speech acts: locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary (Example: You have left the door wide o

7、pen. See related part on page 89.)Definitions of the three speech acts:Locutionary act: act of uttering words, phrases, clausesIllocutionary act: the act of expressing the speakers intentionPerlocutionary act: the act performed by or resulting fro saying something, the consequence of the utteranceSe

8、arles classification of speech actsRepresentatives: stating or describing, saying what the speaker believes to be true. The speaker is making a statement or giving a description which he himself believes to be true. Stating, believing, swearing, hypothesizing are the typical representatives. (I swea

9、r) I have never seen the man before. (I state) The earth is a globe.Directives: Trying to get hearer to do something. Inviting, suggesting, requesting, advising, warning, threatening, ordering are the typical ones. Open the window! Youd better go to the clinic. Your money or your life! Would you lik

10、e to go to the picnic with us?Commissives: Committing the speaker himself to the future course of action. Promising, undertaking, vowing are the most typical cases. I promise to come. I will bring you the book tomorrow without fail.Expressives: Expressing feelings or attitude towards an existing sta

11、te. Typical ones: apologizing, thanking, congratulating. Im sorry for the mess I have made. Its really kind of you to have thought of me.Declarations: bringing about immediate changes by saying something. They are like Austins classical examples. More examples: I now declare the meeting open. I appo

12、int you chairman of the committee. I fire you!All the acts that belong to the same category share the same purpose but differ in their strength or force. Close the door. Will you close the door! Can you close the door! Do you mind closing the door? I would be very grateful if you could close the doo

13、r! The door is open! The door please!Principles of conversation and flouting of the conversation maximsThe maxim of quantity Make your contribution as informative as required. No more and no less.The maxim of quality Do not say what you believe to be false and do not say what you lack evidence for.T

14、he maxim of relation Be relevantThe maxim of manner Avoid obscurity, ambiguity. Be brief and orderly.Flouting of the conversation maxim and revealing conversation implicature A: When is Susans farewell party? B: Sometime next month. (flouting the maxim of quantity) A: Would you like to join us for t

15、he picnic on Sunday? B: Im afraid I have got a class on Sunday. (flouting the maxim of quality) A: How did the math exam go today, Jonnie? B: We had a basketball match with the other class and we beat them. (flouting the maxim of relation) A: Shall we get something for the kids? B: Yes. But I veto I-C-E-C-R-E-A-M. (flouting the maxim of manner)ReferencesDai, W. D & He, Z. X. (2002). A new concise course on linguistics for students of English. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.He, Z. R. (1988). A survey of pragmatics. Changsha: Hunan Educatio