pragmatics

Itrsquos not what you sayhellip Itrsquos how you say

It

1 REFERENCE AND INFERENCEReferenceReference

Is an act in which a speaker or writer uses linguistic forms to enable a listener or reader to identify something

Referring expressions

Proper nounsPronounsDefinite nounsIndefinite nouns

ExamplePROPER NOUNS

Bogotaacute

Shakira

NOUN PHRASES (DEFINITE)

The city

the colombian singer

NOUN PHRASES (INDEFINITE)

A place

A woman

PRONOUNS

It

She her

Reference is clearly tied to the speakerrsquos goals and beliefs in the use of language

Other examples- Therersquos a man waiting for you- He wants to marry a woman with lots of

money- Wersquod love to find a nine ndash foot ndash tall

basketball player

InferenceInference

Is connecting prior knowledge to text based information to create meaning beyond what is directly statedThe role of inference in communication is to allow the listener to identify correctly which particular entity the speaker is referring toWe can even use vague expressions relying on the listenerrsquos ability to infer what is the referent that we have in mind

Listeners make inferences about what is said in order to arrive at an interpretation of the speakerrsquos intended meaning The choice of one type of referring expression rather than another seems to be based on what the speaker assumes the listener already knows

Examples- Where is the fresh salad sittingHe is sitting by the door- Can I look at your ShakespeareSure itrsquos on the shelf over there

Speakers reference intentionListeners inference interpretation

2 PRESUPPOSITION AND ENTAILMENT

PresuppositionPresupposition

Presupposition is what the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an utterance

EntailmenEntailmentt

Entailment which is not a pragmatic concept is what logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance

Speakers have presuppositions while sentences not speakers have entailments

Janersquos brother bought two apartments

This sentence presupposes that Jane exists and that she has a brother The speaker may also hold the more specific presupposition that she has only a brother and her brother has a lot of money All these presuppositions are held by the speaker and all of them can be wrong In pragmatics entailment is the relationship between two sentences where the truth of one (A) requires the truth of the other (B) For example the sentence (A) The president was assassinated entails (B) The president is dead

Types of presuppositions

Projection problemProjection problemIn this case the meaning of some presupposition (as a part) doesnrsquot survive to become the meaning of a more complex sentence (as a whole)

Examplea)Nobody realized that Kelly was unhappyb)I imagined that Kelly was unhappy c)I imagined that Kelly was unhappy and nobody realized that she was unhappy

Ordered entailments Ordered entailments

Generally speaking entailment is not a pragmatic concept (ie having to do with the speaker meaning) but it is considered a purely logical concept examples

1)Bob ate three sandwiches

a) Something ate three sandwichesb)Bob did something to three sandwiches c) Bob ate three of something d)Something happened

3 COOPERATION AND IMPLICATURE

When people talk with each other they try to converse smoothly and successfully Cooperation is the basis of successful conversations

CooperationCooperationCan be understood as an essential factor when speakers and listeners are interacting in other words it is the expectation that the listener has towards the speaker ImplicatureImplicature

Can be considered as an additional conveyed meaning It is attained when a speaker intends to communicate more than just what the words mean

Cooperative Principle Make your conversational contribution such as is required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged

Quantity1 Make your contribution as informative as is required(for the current purposes of the exchange)2 Do not make your contribution more informative than is requiredB Quality (Try to make your contribution one that is true)1 Do not say what you believe to be false2 Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidenceC Relation1 Be relevantD Manner (Be perspicuous)1 Avoid obscurity of expression2 Avoid ambiguity3 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)4 Be orderly

hedges cautious notes to indicate that a speaker is aware of maxims but fears not to adhere to them completely Speakers are aware of the maxims and show that they are trying to observe them

Examples QualityAs far as I know theyre marriedI may be mistaken but I thought I saw a

wedding ring on her fingerIm not sure if this is right but I heard it was a

secret ceremony in HawaiiHe couldnt live without her I guess

SCALAR IMPLICATURE when any form in a scale is asserted the negative of all forms higher on the scale is implicated

If for example an ironic interpretation of lsquoJohnrsquos a geniusrsquo (ie Johnrsquos an idiotrsquo) is forced by flouting then it does not matter if it is worded differently

Johnrsquos a mental prodigyJohnrsquos a big brainJohnrsquos an enormous intellect

4 POLITENESS AND INTERACTIONPolitenessPolitenesscan be defined as the means employed to show

awareness of another personrsquos face In this sense POLITENESS can be accomplished in situations of social distance or closeness

InteractionInteractiona linguistic interaction is necessarily a social

interactionrdquo In order to make sense of what is said in an interaction one has to consider external as well as internal factors which relate to social distance and closeness

Example -Excume me Mr Buckingham but can I talk to you for a minute

- Hey Bucky got a minute

5 CONVERSATION AND PREFERENCE STRUCTURE

adjacency pairs represent social actions and not all social actions are equal when they occur as second parts of some pairs eg a first part request expects an acceptance

1048638 acceptance is structurally more likely than refusalStructural likelihood is called preference Preference structure divides second parts into preferred and dispreferred social acts

CONVERSATIONIs unique creative even than in real time

Ideas and conceptsmessage

CharacteristicsCollaboratively achievedManaged on a turn by turnHighly Coordinated

Aspects of pragmaticsDeixisPresuppositionSpeech actImplicatures

Conversation Analysis-how open conversation-how take turns-how finish conversation

6 DISCOURSE ANALYSISDiscourse analysis is an attempt to discover

linguistic regularities in discourse using grammatical phonological and semantic criteria It is an effort to interpreter what the writer or speaker intended to convey with in a sensitive social context

ExampleFather Is that your coat on the floor againSon yes (goes on reading)

7 BACKGROUND KWONLEDGE CULTURAL SCHEMATA

The ability to arrive automatically at interpretation of unwritten and the unsaid must be based on pre-existing knowledge structures

Information

UnwrittenUnsaidPatternInterpret Schema

context

knowledge

Eg Apartment for rent $500000

Infer the information = you pay $500000 per month

Schema Pre- existing knowledge structure in the memoryPattern Several ideasFrame Huge idea- complete idea

Script pre- existing knowledge structure involving events and sequences

Action - effect

Eg I need to pay a public service and the bank is full I make a line and the cashier said me that he cant receive money and I go to another bank

Cultural SchemataCultural schemas for social interaction are cognitive structures that contain knowledge for face-to-face interactions in a personrsquos cultural environment

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1 REFERENCE AND INFERENCEReferenceReference

Is an act in which a speaker or writer uses linguistic forms to enable a listener or reader to identify something

Referring expressions

Proper nounsPronounsDefinite nounsIndefinite nouns

ExamplePROPER NOUNS

Bogotaacute

Shakira


The city



A place

A woman

PRONOUNS

It

She her




basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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ExamplePROPER NOUNS

Bogotaacute

Shakira


The city



A place

A woman

PRONOUNS

It

She her




basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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The city



A place

A woman

PRONOUNS

It

She her




basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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A place

A woman

PRONOUNS

It

She her




basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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PRONOUNS

It

She her




basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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basketball player

InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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InferenceInference




















































Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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Information


context

knowledge





Action - effect



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context

knowledge





Action - effect



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Action - effect



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pragmatics

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