Pragmatics
The Definitions of Pragmatics
? speaker
? listener
? context
? social interaction
? functions of language
? Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.
( Yule,1996.3)
? Pragmatics is a theory which seeks to
characterize how speakers use the sentences of
a language to effect successful communication.
( Kempson,1975:84)
Speaker
Listeners
? Pragmatics is the study of how more gets
communicated than is said,( Yule,1996:3)
? Pragmatics is the study of understanding
intentional human action,(Green,1996:2)
Context
? Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
( Yule,1996:3)
? Pragmatics can be usefully defined as the study of
how utterance have meanings in
situations.( Leech,1983:x)
? Pragmatics,as a topic in linguistics,is the study of
the use of context to make inferences about
meaning.( Fasold,1993:119,from Schiffrin)
? Pragmatics is the study of the conditions of human
language uses as these are determined by the context
of society.( Mey,1993:42)
Social interaction
? Pragmatics is the study of the ability of
language users to pair sentences with the
contexts in which they would be
appropriate.( Levinson,1983:24)
? (In this book I shall be working towards a
definition of )pragmatics as meaning in
interaction.(Tomas,1995:24)
? Pragmatics is the study of the expression of
relative distance.(Yule,1996:3)
Functions of language
? Pragmatics (is) a general functional
perspective on (any aspect of)language,i.e.
as an approach to language which takes into
account the full complexity of its cognitive,
social,and cultural(i.e,meaningful)
functioning in the lives of human
beings.(Verschueren,1995:13-14)
? deixis
? conversational implicature
? presupposition
? conversation analysis
? speech acts
5 units
Speech Acts
Speech Acts
? Introduction
? Speech act theory is the first major theory
in pragmatics,initially proposed in the 50s and
widely discussed in the 60s and 70s.
? John L,Austin,one of the ordinary language
philosophers at Oxford,began a series of
lectures at Harvard University in1955.
? His posthumous work How to Do Things with
Words had an enormous impact on linguistic
philosophy,and thereby on linguistics,especially
in its pragmatic variant.
? Austin’s thinking (which in the course of
time came to be known as speech act
theory) was further developed and
codified by the American philosopher
John R,Searle,who had studied under
Austin in the fifties,and subsequently
became the main proponent and defender
of the former’s ideas.
? Speech acts are verbal actions
happening in the world,Uttering a speech
act,I do something with my words,I
perform an activity that brings about a
change in the existing state of affairs.
? The performative-constative
dichotomy
? I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth.
I give and bequeath my watch to my
brother.
I bet you sixpence it will rain tomorrow.
? Three Dimensions of Speech Act
? The locution is the actual form of words
used by the speaker and their semantic
meaning.
? The illocution is what the speaker is
doing by uttering those words,
commanding,offering,promising,
thanking,etc.
? The perlocution is the actual result of
the locution.
? Searle’s distinction
? Utterance acts uttering words
(morphemes,sentences)
Propositional acts referring and
predicating
Illocutionary acts stating,questioning,
commanding,promising,etc.
? Austin’s Classification of Speech Acts
? Verdictives acquit convict hold read it as
Exercitives appoint name order sentence
nominate
Commissives promise undertake bet oppose
Behabitives apologize thank welcome
wish
Expositives affirm remark accept mean
? Searle’s Revision
? Four dimensions
The illocutionary point
The direction of fit between words and the world
The psychological state expressed
The propositional content
? felicity conditions,sets of necessary
conditions for illocution to,count”.
? the essential condition
the sincerity condition
the propositional content condition
Four dimensions felicity
conditions
The illocutionary point the essential condition
The direction of fit between
words and the world
The psychological state
expressed
the sincerity condition
The propositional content the propositional
content condition
Assertives Tom’s eating grapes,Bill was an
accountant,
Directives Sit down! Fasten your seat
belts,
Commissives I’ll call you tonight,We’re going to turn
you in.
Expressives I’m sorry to hear that,This beer is
disgusting,
Declaration
s
We find the defendant
guilty,
I resign,
Indirect Speech Acts
? Acts,in which one illocutionary act is
performed indirectly by way of performing
another.”
? The true illocutionary force of an indirect speech
act can be inferred from the fact that one or more
of the felicity conditions of the,surface” speech act
have been obviously violated,while at the same
time one or more of the felicity conditions for the
indirect speech act have been mentioned or
questioned.
? The feature of indirect speech acts is the origin of
many polite turns of phrase,
Speech Act Theory and
Discourse Analysis
The Definitions of Pragmatics
? speaker
? listener
? context
? social interaction
? functions of language
? Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.
( Yule,1996.3)
? Pragmatics is a theory which seeks to
characterize how speakers use the sentences of
a language to effect successful communication.
( Kempson,1975:84)
Speaker
Listeners
? Pragmatics is the study of how more gets
communicated than is said,( Yule,1996:3)
? Pragmatics is the study of understanding
intentional human action,(Green,1996:2)
Context
? Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
( Yule,1996:3)
? Pragmatics can be usefully defined as the study of
how utterance have meanings in
situations.( Leech,1983:x)
? Pragmatics,as a topic in linguistics,is the study of
the use of context to make inferences about
meaning.( Fasold,1993:119,from Schiffrin)
? Pragmatics is the study of the conditions of human
language uses as these are determined by the context
of society.( Mey,1993:42)
Social interaction
? Pragmatics is the study of the ability of
language users to pair sentences with the
contexts in which they would be
appropriate.( Levinson,1983:24)
? (In this book I shall be working towards a
definition of )pragmatics as meaning in
interaction.(Tomas,1995:24)
? Pragmatics is the study of the expression of
relative distance.(Yule,1996:3)
Functions of language
? Pragmatics (is) a general functional
perspective on (any aspect of)language,i.e.
as an approach to language which takes into
account the full complexity of its cognitive,
social,and cultural(i.e,meaningful)
functioning in the lives of human
beings.(Verschueren,1995:13-14)
? deixis
? conversational implicature
? presupposition
? conversation analysis
? speech acts
5 units
Speech Acts
Speech Acts
? Introduction
? Speech act theory is the first major theory
in pragmatics,initially proposed in the 50s and
widely discussed in the 60s and 70s.
? John L,Austin,one of the ordinary language
philosophers at Oxford,began a series of
lectures at Harvard University in1955.
? His posthumous work How to Do Things with
Words had an enormous impact on linguistic
philosophy,and thereby on linguistics,especially
in its pragmatic variant.
? Austin’s thinking (which in the course of
time came to be known as speech act
theory) was further developed and
codified by the American philosopher
John R,Searle,who had studied under
Austin in the fifties,and subsequently
became the main proponent and defender
of the former’s ideas.
? Speech acts are verbal actions
happening in the world,Uttering a speech
act,I do something with my words,I
perform an activity that brings about a
change in the existing state of affairs.
? The performative-constative
dichotomy
? I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth.
I give and bequeath my watch to my
brother.
I bet you sixpence it will rain tomorrow.
? Three Dimensions of Speech Act
? The locution is the actual form of words
used by the speaker and their semantic
meaning.
? The illocution is what the speaker is
doing by uttering those words,
commanding,offering,promising,
thanking,etc.
? The perlocution is the actual result of
the locution.
? Searle’s distinction
? Utterance acts uttering words
(morphemes,sentences)
Propositional acts referring and
predicating
Illocutionary acts stating,questioning,
commanding,promising,etc.
? Austin’s Classification of Speech Acts
? Verdictives acquit convict hold read it as
Exercitives appoint name order sentence
nominate
Commissives promise undertake bet oppose
Behabitives apologize thank welcome
wish
Expositives affirm remark accept mean
? Searle’s Revision
? Four dimensions
The illocutionary point
The direction of fit between words and the world
The psychological state expressed
The propositional content
? felicity conditions,sets of necessary
conditions for illocution to,count”.
? the essential condition
the sincerity condition
the propositional content condition
Four dimensions felicity
conditions
The illocutionary point the essential condition
The direction of fit between
words and the world
The psychological state
expressed
the sincerity condition
The propositional content the propositional
content condition
Assertives Tom’s eating grapes,Bill was an
accountant,
Directives Sit down! Fasten your seat
belts,
Commissives I’ll call you tonight,We’re going to turn
you in.
Expressives I’m sorry to hear that,This beer is
disgusting,
Declaration
s
We find the defendant
guilty,
I resign,
Indirect Speech Acts
? Acts,in which one illocutionary act is
performed indirectly by way of performing
another.”
? The true illocutionary force of an indirect speech
act can be inferred from the fact that one or more
of the felicity conditions of the,surface” speech act
have been obviously violated,while at the same
time one or more of the felicity conditions for the
indirect speech act have been mentioned or
questioned.
? The feature of indirect speech acts is the origin of
many polite turns of phrase,
Speech Act Theory and
Discourse Analysis
