Chapter6Pragmatics----thestudyoflanguageinuseorlanguagecommunication;thestudyoftheuseofcontexttomakeinferenceaboutmeaning.----thestudyofhowspeakersofalanguageusesentencestoeffectsuccessfulcommunication.PragmaticsThistermwasfirstproposedbyAmericanphilosophorCharlesWilliamsMorrisin1937.Thissubjectwasdevelopedquicklyin1960’sand1970s.SomebasicnotionsinPragmaticsPragmaticsvs.semanticsContextSentencemeaningvs.utterancemeaningCorrectnessvs.appropriatenessPragmaticsvs.semanticsSemantics----isthestudyoftheliteralmeaningofasentence(withouttakingcontextintoconsideration).Pragmatics----thestudyoftheintendedmeaningofaspeaker(takingcontextintoconsideration),e.g.“Mybirthdaypartywillbeheldtomorrownight”,semantically,itmeansthattomorrowIwillcelebratemybirthday;pragmatically,youcanmeanalotbysayingthis,alldependingonthecontextandtheintentionofthespeaker,say,makingainvitationorhopingtoreceiptgifts…ContextnotedbyBritishlinguistJohnFirthContext----abasicconceptinthestudyofpragmatics.Itisgenerallyconsideredasconstitutedknowledgesharedbythespeakerandthehearer,suchasculturalbackground,situation(time,place,manner,etc.),therelationshipbetweenthespeakerandthehearer,etc.….Sentencemeaningvs.utterancemeaning----Sentencemeaning:Abstractandcontext-independentmeaning;literalmeaningofasentence;----utterancemeaning:concreteandcontext-dependentmeaning;intendedmeaningofaspeaker;“Ijustateonebowlofrice”(sentencemeaning);anindirect,politerequest,askingthehearertobuysomecandiesorsnacksforher;thespeakerisexpressingherdesireforwhatshewantstoget.Note:Themeaningofanutteranceisbasedonthesentencemeaning;itistherealizationoftheabstractmeaningofasentenceinarealsituationofcommunication,orsimplyinacontext;utterancemeaningisricherthansentencemeaning;itisidenticalwiththepurposeforwhichthespeakeruttersthesentence.Correctnessvs.appropriateness*“Johnplaygolf”----grammaticallyincorrect;?“GolfplayedJohn”----logicallyincorrect;butitmightbeappropriatepragmaticallyincertaincontext.Note:Pragmaticscanmakesenseoutofnonsense,givenasuitablecontext.Appropriatenessisveryimportantinlinguisticcommunication,especiallyincross-culturalcommunication.Ifyousaysomethinggrammaticallyincorrect,youareatworsecondemnedas“speakingbadly”,but,ifyousaysomethinginappropriately,youwillbejudgedas“behavingbadly”,suchasinsincere,untruthful,ordeceitful.(Thomas,1983)SpeechacttheorySpeechactsisatermderivedfromtheworkofthephilosopherJ.L.Austin(1962)andnowusedtorefertoatheorywhichanalyzestheroleofutterancesinrelationtothebehaviorofthespeakerandthehearerininterpersonalcommunication.Itaimstoanswerthequestion“Whatdowedowhenusinglanguage?”TwotypesofutterancesConstatives(叙述句)----statementsthateitherstateordescribe,andarethusverifiable;Performatives(施为句)----sentencesthatdonotstateafactordescribeastate,andarenotverifiable.Note:Sometimestheyareeasytogetconfused,e.g.“Itisrainingoutside”canbeaconstative,andalsoaperformative,forbyutteringsuchasentence,wemaynotonlystateafact,butinvolveintheactofinformingsomeoneabouttherain.SomeExamplesofPerformatives“Ido”“InamethisshipElizabeth.”“Igiveandbequeathmywatchtomybrother.”“Ibetyousixpenceitwillraintomorrow.”“Ideclarethemeetingopen.”Austin’snewmodelofspeechacts----AccordingtoAustin’snewmodel,aspeakermightbeperformingthreeactssimultaneouslywhenspeaking:locutionaryact,illocutionaryactandperlocutionaryact.Thelocutionaryact----anactofsayingsomething,i.e.anactofmakingameaningfulutterance(literalmeaningofanutterance);Theillocutionaryact----anactperformedinsayingsomething:insayingX,IwasdoingY(theintentionofthespeakerwhilespeaking).Theperlocutionaryact----anactperformedasaresultofsayingsomething:bysayingXanddoingY,IdidZ.Forexample,“Itiscoldinhere.”Itslocutionaryactisthesayingofitwithitsliteralmeaningtheweatherisclodinhere;Itsillocutionaryactcanbearequestoftheheartoshutthewindow;Itsperlocutionaryactcanbethehearer’sshuttingthewindoworhisrefusaltocomplywiththerequest.----Analyzeonemoreexample:“Youhaveleftthedoorwideopen.”Note:Ofthethreeacts,whatspeechacttheoryismostconcernedwithistheillocutionaryact.Itattemptstoaccountforthewaysbywhichspeakerscanmeanmorethanwhattheysay.Analyzetheillocutionaryactsofthefollowingconversationbetweenacouple:----(thetelephonerings)----H:That’thephone.(1)----W:I’minthebathroom.(2)----H:Okay.(3)Thisseeminglyincoherentconversationgoesonsuccessfullybecausethespeakersunderstandeachother’sillocutionaryacts:(1)Makingarequestofhiswifetogoandanswerthephone.(2)Arefusaltocomplywiththerequest;issuingarequestofherhusbandtoanswerthephoneinstead.(3)Acceptingthewife’srefusalandacceptingherrequest,meaning“allright,I’llanswerit.”Searle’sclassificationofspeechacts(1969)Assertives/representatives(陈述)Directives(指令)Commissives(承诺)Expressives(表达)Declarations(宣布)Assertives/representatives----Statingordescribing,sayingwhatthespeakerbelievestobetrue,e.g.Ithinkthefilmismoving.I’mcertainIhaveneverseenthemanbefore.Isolemnlyswearthathehadgotit.…Directives----Tryingtogetthehearertodosomething,e.g.Iorderyoutoleaverightnow.Openthewindo