Introduction to Linguistics Pragmatics Introduction to Linguistics

What does pragmatics study? Context Meaning

I love coffee as a sentences as an utterance

Utterance An utterance is an event. An utterance has a context.

Context affects meaning 妳是小三嗎? You are involved in a love affair with a married man. You are 小三.

Types of context Linguistic context What speakers are talking about Situational context Gives information about the situation in which an utterance is uttered. In which allows speakers to make references in the world. Social context speakers and their roles

Felicity: whether an utterance is appropriate in a setting Situationally appropriate Related to the specific context To be felicitous

meaning felicity context

Rules of conversation

Cooperative principle: 4 maxims Quality Say what you believe to be true Do not say for which you lack adequate evidence. Quantity Provide information contribution No more, no less Relevance Be relevant Manner Avoid obscurity and ambiguity Be brief and orderly

What happens if the maxims are flouted? Flouting Inferences

Drawing conclusions

Entailment Implication Inference Implicature

Entailment Based on literal meaning Ignore the context of an utterance.

Implication vs. inference John and Mary are sitting in a romantic restaurant. John takes out a ring and puts it on the table. What does John imply by doing so? What can Mary infer from it?

Implication Sending a message without saying it directly Inference A conclusion that a person can reasonably draw on a set of conditions

implicatures When a speaker uses language to imply something, the utterance contains an implicature. Conclusions that are drawn about what people mean based on what we know about how conversation works.

I’d like a cup of coffee. Go to Starbucks.

Speech acts

What is a speech act? Actions performed via utterances

Common types of speech acts Assertion Conveys information Question Elicit information Request Elicit action or information Order Demand action Promise Commit the speaker to an action Threat Commit the speaker to an action that the hearer does not want

Performative speech acts Come with performative verbs. Use the present tense. Associated with the authority of the speaker. I promise to take you to a bar tonight. I will promise to take you to a bar tonight.

Test of performative verbs I hereby V … I _______ name the ship ‘Elizabeth’. I _______ warn you not to sleep in class. I _______ believe that there’s no Santa Claus.

Felicity conditions The appropriate circumstances for the performance of a speech act to be recognized.

Felicity conditions “I promise to see you tomorrow’. General conditions The utterance is understood. Content conditions The content of the utterance is about a future event and the speaker is committed to the act. Preparatory conditions The event does not happen by itself. The event will have a beneficial effect. Sincerity conditions The speaker does have a genuine intention to carry out the future act. Essential conditions The utterance changes the speaker’s state from non-obligation to obligation

The performative hypothesis To assume that every utterance (U) underlies a clause that contains a performative verb, which make the illocutionary forces explicit. I (hereby) Vperformative you (that) U Open the door. Implicit/primary performatives I hereby order you that you open the door. Explicit performatives

Speech act classification Declarations Representatives Expressives Directives Commissives

Declarations The speech acts that change the state of the world via utterances. I now pronounce you husband and wife We find the defendant guilty.

Representatives The speech acts that states what the speaker believes to be the case or not. Statements of fact, assertions, conclusions, and descriptions The world is flat. It is a sunny day.

Expressives The speech acts that state what the speaker feels. Psychological stats (pleasure, pain, likes, joy, sorrow…) I am sorry. Congratulations.

Directives The speech acts used by the speaker to get someone else to do something. Commands, orders, requests, suggestions. Go away!

Commissives The speech acts that speakers use to commit themselves to some future actions Promises, threats, refusals, pledges. I can’t do that.

QUESTIONS?