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Pragmatics

Pragmatics. November 28, 2012. The Light at the End of the Tunnel. Today: Syntax homework due! The final homework for the class will be due next Wednesday. …for which you will need to understand the material I am going to go over in today’s lecture.

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Pragmatics

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  1. Pragmatics November 28, 2012

  2. The Light at the End of the Tunnel • Today: Syntax homework due! • The final homework for the class will be due next Wednesday. • …for which you will need to understand the material I am going to go over in today’s lecture. • …and also some Semantics (to be discussed in the next two lectures) • Note: extra reading on Pragmatics has been posted to the course webpage. • Evaluations of instruction will be held at the end of class on Monday.

  3. The Last Quick Write

  4. Not The Last Quick Write

  5. Sentences vs. Utterances • The meaning of a sentence can usually be derived from the meaning of its words (and how they are combined by syntax). • However: sometimes, the meaning of a sentence can change depending on how it’s used in a particular context. • Sentence: a string of words put together by the grammatical rules of a language. • Sentences are abstract idealizations • Sentences are not physical events • Utterance: the use of a sentence, in a particular context. • Utterances are actual, physical events • Utterances can derive meaning from context which they can’t derive from their abstract form as sentences.

  6. Sentences in Context • Sentence 1: Kim’s got a knife. • Context 1: You’re sitting on the beach in Tahiti, trying to figure out how to open a coconut. • Someone says: Kim’s got a knife! • Context 2: Darrell has just crashed into Kim’s car. Kim gets out of her car, looking angry, with a butcher knife in her hand. • Someone says: Kim’s got a knife! • In context 1, the sentence provides information. • In context 2, the sentence is a warning.

  7. Pragmatics, defined • Pragmatics is the study of how meaning is derived from context. • Pragmatics is also the study of how language is used in context. • The word “pragmatics” is derived from the Greek: • /pragma/ “deed” • and an even earlier form: • /prassein/ “to do”

  8. Speech Acts • It turns out that we can use language to do things. • When we use language to do something, we are performing a speech act. • What can we do with the following expressions? • Time out! • Shotgun! • Jinx! • The “meaning” of these expressions is what they do. (i.e., the use we put them to.)

  9. Speech Act Examples • Speech acts can also be performed with complete sentences. • John read the book. assertion • Did John read the book? question • Please pass the salt. request • Kim’s got a knife! warning • Get out of here! order • I will love you forever. promise • I’ll give you a reason to cry. threat

  10. Performative Verbs • There are some verbs whose meaning is the speech act they perform. • These verbs are known as performative verbs. • I bet you ten bucks the Flames will win. • I dare you to leave. • I promise to buy you some ice cream. • I nominate Batman for mayor of Gotham City. • I call shotgun! • I resign. • I confer on you the degree of Bachelor of Arts. • I now pronounce you husband and wife.

  11. Performance Conditions • A “performative” verb only performs the action it describes if it’s used: • in the present tense • with a first person subject • Examples: • I promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. • #John promises to buy you some ice cream tonight. • #I will promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. • We promise to buy you some ice cream tonight. • (# denotes that the utterance of these words does not actually perform the speech act.)

  12. The “Hereby Test” • If a sentence sounds fine with “hereby”, it is being used performatively. • Examples: • I hereby promise to buy you some ice cream. • I hereby pronounce you man and wife. • I hereby dub thee George. • I hereby challenge you to a duel. • #I hereby walk around the block. • #I hereby sing. • Also notice: Smoking is hereby forbidden.

  13. Performance Problems • You can’t always perform a speech act by just saying something. • Context: A man is speaking to his wife. • “I hereby divorce you.” • Context: An unmarried couple is talking with a bartender. The bartender says: • “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” • The conditions which must be fulfilled for a speech act to be carried out properly are known as felicity conditions. • Also known as “appropriateness conditions”

  14. Felicity Conditions Quiz Time • What are the felicity conditions for the Quick Write speech acts? • “Time out!” • “Shotgun!” • “Jinx!” • When someone attempts to perform a speech act when the appropriate felicity conditions have not been met, the speech act is said to be infelicitous.

  15. Examples of Infelicity

  16. Felicity Conditions for Questions • Speech Act: Speaker asks Hearer about a proposition “P”. • Q: Did the Flames beat the Oilers last night? • P: The Flames beat the Oilers last night. • Felicity Conditions: • Speaker doesn’t know P. • Speaker wants to know P. • Speaker believes hearer knows P. • Speaker believes hearer can share information about P.

  17. Sentence Type vs. Sentence Use • There are three basic sentence types: • declaratives, interrogatives, imperatives • Each sentence type is typically used for a certain kind of speech act. • Declarative sentences are typically used in assertions. • They convey information about what is true and what is false. • Examples: • LeBron James plays basketball. • The dog ate the bone. • Linguistics is fun.

  18. Sentence Type vs. Sentence Use • Interrogative sentences are typically used in questions. • They are used to elicit information from the hearer. • Examples: • Did the Flames beat the Oilers last night? • Is it snowing again? • Imperative sentences are typically used in orders and requests. • They are meant to affect the behavior of the hearer. • Examples: • Stop it! • Tell me what happened.

  19. Sentence Structure • Note that each sentence type has a distinct syntactic structure: • Declarative sentence: Subject-Verb-(Object) • LeBron James plays basketball. • Interrogative sentence: order of Subject and Auxiliary has been inverted. • Didthe Flames beat the Oilers? • Imperative sentence: no explicit subject! • Pass the salt!

  20. Direct and Indirect • A direct speech act occurs when a particular sentence type is being used to serve its typical function • SentenceFunction • Declarative Assertion • Interrogative Question • Imperative Order/Request • Also: the speech act is based on the literal meaning of the sentence. • Indirect speech acts may be made whenever a particular sentence type is used to serve an atypical function.

  21. Direct vs. Indirect Speech Acts • Direct: Please close the door. • Imperative sentence type; order/request • Indirect: Do you think you could close the door? • Interrogative sentence type; order/request • Direct: Did Bart get the job? • Interrogative sentence type; question • Indirect: I was wondering if Bart got the job. • Declarative sentence type; question • We use indirect speech acts in conversation all the time. • Example: “I would like the roast beef.”

  22. Cheap Attempts at Humor • At a crowded airline ticket counter, a harried man rushes to the front of the line and demands: • Harried Man: “I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS!” • Ticket Agent: “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I have to help these other folks first.” • Harried Man (loudly): “Do you have any idea who I am?” • Ticket Agent (speaking through PA system): “May I have your attention please? We have a passenger here at the gate WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to the gate.”

  23. Identifying Indirect Speech Acts • If a sentence contains a verb that is being used performatively, it is a direct speech act. • I promise to buy you some ice cream. • If there is no performative verb, identify the sentence type. • Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative • Determine whether the sentence type has its typical function. • If yes: another direct speech act. • A helpful criterion: determine how the listener would normally respond to the sentence. • Ex: “I would like the roast beef.” • #”Oh, that’s interesting!”

  24. Identifying Indirect Speech Acts • Are any felicity conditions violated for the literal meaning of the sentence? • Ex: “Can you take the garbage out?” • Does the asker really not know the answer to this question? • If not, why would they ask it? •  to draw the listener’s attention to the answer. •  This is an indirect request.

  25. Assignment! • For next Wednesday (the 5th), write down two indirect speech acts that you hear (or use) during the course of your everyday conversations over the next week. • And explain why they’re indirect speech acts. • (more homework details will be forthcoming on Friday)

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