This presentation is based on contemporary linguistics in the course of general linguistics in EMU

1. Pragmatics
Tazhan K. Omer
15500097

4. Pragmatics: language in context
Pragmatics is the study of meaning in context.
It deals with speaker meaning rather than setence meaning.
A.: I have a 14 year old son
B.: Well that’s right
A.: I also have a dog
B.: Oh, I’m sorry
Can you understand the meaning of this sentence?
It would be hard to catch it, unless you know that A. is trying
to rent an apartment from B. and B. doesn’t accept pets.

5. If we don’t have a context or some knowledge
about a situation, the meaning can be
‘invisible’ as in the previous example. Or
- have you seen Sam?
- the black car is over there.
This seemingly incoherent text can be easily
understood if we know that Sam owns a black
car.

6. Context
the word ‘pupil’ is a homonym.
How do we know which meaning is
intended?
If it is used in a sentence with words like
‘teacher’, ‘classmates’. we understand
that pupil here means ?
If it is used in a sentence with words like
‘eye’, ‘dilatation’ or ‘iris’ we know that
here it means ?
The linguistic context also called co-text

7. Context
Another type, is the physical context.
If you see a sign like this near a school:
SLOW DOWN. PUPILS CROSSING THE STREET.
It does not mean that you have to slow down
because you could run over eye-pupils and
reduce them to a pulp.

8. Doing things with language
This means that language is used to act,by means of
language, in terms of requests, commands, asking
questions or information, we perform actions, that
are called ‘speech acts’.
‘are you married?’, ‘can they play tennis?’, ‘do you
know anything about what happened?’ are forms
used to ask for information and they are called
‘direct speech acts’.
In questions like ‘Can you pass the peper?’ you don’t
want to know if the person is able to pass the
peper, but you want the peper. These are called
‘indirect speech acts’.

9. If we say: you left the door open this could be interpreted as a
statement, but if you say that to someone who has just come
into the room and it is quite cold outside, yours is not a
statement but a request: please, close the door.
WHEN WE FAIL TO UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S SPEECH ACTS THE
RESULT COULD BE FUNNY:
A: excuse me, do you know the time?
B: yes, I do.
And B walks away.

10. "I'm expecting a phone call" can have a
variety of meanings. It could be a request
to leave the phone line free or a reason
for not being able to leave the house; or it
could suggest to a listener who already
has background information that a
specific person is about to call to convey
good or bad news.

12. The role of beliefs and attitudes
a. The judge denied the prisoner’s request because he was cautious.
b. The judge denied the prisoner’s request because he was dangerous.
Judge is cautious and prisoner is dangerous

13. Presupposition
Yule: “ speakers usually design their linguistic
messages on the basis of assumptions of
what their hearer already know” (1996:132)

14. Presupposition
a. Have you stopped exercising regularly?
Presupposition
b. Have you tried exercising regularly?
No presupposition

15. Presupposition
 part of an utterance meaning which
remains truthful when the sentence is
transformed into a negative form
(constancy under negation test)

16. Hong Kong is a modern city.
Hong Kong is not a modern city.
Presupposition:
There is a city Hong Kong

17. Setting (Physical environment)
 interpretation depend on the location of the
speaker hearer within a particular setting
Spatial deictic
a. The bear is coming into the tent!
movement Toward speaker
b. The bear is going into the tent!
Movement away from the speaker

18. Discourse
 A connected series of utterances
produced during a conversation.
I found a butterfly in my garden. There, I
grow variety of plants. I look after them
carefully.

19. The man is at the front door.
Given information
A man is at the front door.
New information

20. Topic
Once upon a time there was a merchant with two sons.
New information
The older son wanted to be a scholar. He spent his time reading and studying.
Topic
As for the youngest son, he preferred to travel and see the world.
new information
To mark new topic

21. Conversational maxim (Grice Maxim)
There are some rules for conversation
(our understanding), one should follow in order to
convey the message, this is suggested by Paul
Grice.
A: Would you like to go to a movie tonight?
B: I have to study for an exam.
Which means declining the invitation even
though there is nothing literally says so.

22. Quality Maxim (true)

23. Quantity Maxim(not moreless info)

24. Maxim of Relevance (be relevant)

25. Maxim of Manner(be brief and orderly)

26. Politeness
 the way people choose to speak and
how the hearers react to their speech.
(Pecce;1999)
 Showing awareness of another person’s
face, socially distance is described in
terms of respect.(Yule,1996:134)

29. The Politeness principle
 Face threatening act (act opposite the desire of the other)
My young neighbor is playing loud music late at night. You can not sleep, I
am going to tell him to stop that awful noise right now.
 Face saving act ( lessen embarrassment or to make one’s self look better)
Situation :After your girlfriend betrayed you.
“ Oh I was going to break up with her anyway”.
 Indirect speech act (the speaker says one thing but intends another)
Do you have any spare change? (give me a pound)

33. Politeness in communication requires us to
adapt strategies of
1- maximizing (polite beliefs)
2-minimising (impolite beliefs)

40. Relevance Theory
Relevance is a cognitive principle that lies
behind information processing.
Plays a key role in understanding utterances
in context.
How do we interpret utterances in context?
For interpreting utterances we focus on
relevant information, Which Refers to
information that produces a “ contextual
effect”

41. Barbara: Did you enjoy the meal?
Janet: well, the soup was lumpy, the steak
was gristly, the vegetables were
overcooked and the dessert was musty.
The contextual effect for Barbara is : “No, I
definitely did not enjoy the meal”