Chapter 10 : Pragmatics

 -The study of what speakers mean, or “speaker meaning,” is called pragmatics.

 Invisible Meaning

    -Refer to how we recognize what is meant even when it is not actually said or written. For this to happen, to happen, speakers (or writers) must be able to depend on a lot of shared assumptions and expectations when they try to communicate. 

    -For example, when you read the sign that said "Heated Attendant PARKING" you don’t normally think that the sign is advertising a place where you can park your “heated attendant.” Alternatively, the sign may indicate a place where parking will be carried out by attendants who have been heated.

 Context

    -Refer to when we use the meanings of the words, the context in which they occur, and some pre-existing knowledge of what would be a likely message as we work toward a reasonable interpretation.

    -When we look at the picture, we dont think that it mean the sale of some very young children but instead recognize that it is advertising a sale of clothes for those young children even though the word "clothes" is nowhere in the message.

        -There are two kinds of context:

+Physical context: can be the location “out there” where we encounter words and phrases (e.g. the word BANK on a wall of a building is understood as a financial institution).

+Linguistic context: the set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence. If the word bank is used with other words like steep or overgrown, we have no problem deciding which type of bank is meant.

    -Deixis: refer to some very common words in our language that can’t be interpreted at all if we don’t know the context. We use deixis to point to people, places and times. interpreted in terms of which person, place or time the speaker has in mind.

 This distinction may also be used to express emotions. A large bowl of cold tomato soup (which you hate) is placed in front of you (so it is close), but you find yourself saying, I can’t eat that.

 Reference

    -We have to define reference as an act by which a speaker (or writer) uses language to enable a listener (or reader) to identify something. Perform an act of reference, we can use proper nouns (Chomsky, Jennifer, Whiskas), other nouns in phrases (a writer, my friend, the cat) or pronouns (he, she, it).

    -We can also refer to things when we are not sure what to call them. We can use expressions such as "the blue thing" and "that icky stuf" and we can even invent names.

    -Inference: additional information used by the listener to create a connection between what is said and what must be meant. We can use nouns associated with things to refer to people, and use names of people to refer to things.

    -Anaphora: the second (or subsequent) referring expression is an example of "anaphora" (“referring back”) while the first mention is called the "antecedent". For example:

We saw a funny home video about a boy washing a puppy in a small bath.

The puppy started struggling and shaking and the boy got really wet.

When he let go, it jumped out of the bath and ran away.

 We can see that a boy, a puppy and a small bath are antecedents and The puppy, the boy, he, it and the bath are anaphoric expressions.

 Presupposition

    -Refer to what a speaker (or writer) assumes is true or known by a listener (or reader). If you are asked the question When did you stop smoking?, there are at least two presuppositions involved: you used to smoke and you no longer do so.

    -There is a test for presuppositions that involves comparing a sentence with its negative version and identifying which presuppositions remain true in both. This is called “constancy under negation.” Whether you say My car is a wreck or the negative My car is not a wreck, there is an underlying presupposition (I have a car) that remains true.

 Pragmatic Markers

    -Speakers have other ways of indicating how their utterances are to be interpreted. They can include short forms such as you know, well, I mean, I don’t know, which are optional and loosely attached to the utterance.

    -They can be used to mark a speaker’s attitude to the listener or to what is being said. Speakers can use "you know" to indicate that knowledge is being treated as shared, and "I mean" to self-correct or to mark an attempt to clarify something.

 Politeness

    -In the study of linguistic politeness, the most relevant concept is “face.” Your face, in pragmatics, is your public self-image. This is the emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize. Politeness can be defined as showing awareness and consideration of another person’s face.

    -Face-threatening act: the act of saying something that represents a threat to another person’s self-image. For example, if you use a direct command to get someone to do something (Give me that paper!), you are behaving as if you have more social power than the other person.

    -Face-saving act: the act of saying something that lessens the possible threat to another’s face. For example, an indirect request, in the form associated with a question (Could you pass me that paper?), removes the assumption of social power. You are only asking if it is possible.

    -Negative and Positive Face: "negative face" is the need to be independent and free from imposition. "Positive face" is the need to be connected, to belong, to be a member of the group. So, a face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s negative face will show concern about imposition (I’m sorry to bother you ...; I know you’re busy, but ...). A face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s positive face will show solidarity and draw attention to a common goal (The same thing happened to me ...; Let’s do this together ...).

 Speech Acts

        -We use the term speech act to describe an action that involves language such as “requesting,” “commanding,” “questioning” or “informing.” For example, if you say, I’ll be there at six, you are not just uttering a sentence, you seem to be performing the speech act of “promising.”

     -Direct and Indirect Speech Acts:

        +Direct speech act: when an interrogative structure such as Did you ... ?, Is she ... ? or Can you ... ? is used with the function of a question.

        +Indirect speech act: the act of using an interrogative structure to make a request. For example, you can also use a declarative structure (You left the door open) to make a request (to the person, who just came in from the chilly outside, to close it). That is another indirect speech act.