1 definition and background

1 definition and background
- Pragmatic is the study of speaker meaning.
- Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
- Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said.
- Pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance.
Syntax
Syntax is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms, how they are
arranged in sequence, and which sequences are well-formed.
Semantics
Semantics is the study of the realationships between linguistics forms and entities
in the world, that is, how words literally connect to thing.
Pragmatics.
Pragmatics is the study of the relationships between linguistics forms and the users
of the those forms.
1. Presupposition and entailment.
A presupposition is something the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making
an utterance. Speaker , not sentences, have presuppositions.
Types of presupposition.
- Potential presuppositions: we shall consider these languistic forms here as
indicator of potential presuppositions, which can only become actual
presuppositions in contexts with speakers.
- Existential presuppositions is not only assumed to be present in possessive
constructions, but more generally in any definite noun phrase. Ex: I have a
dog.
- Factive presupposition: the presupposed information following a verb like
know can be treated as a fact, and is described as a factive presupposition.
- Lexical presupposition, the use of one form with its asserted meaning is
conversationally interpreted with the supposition that another meaning is
understood.
- Structural presuppositions. In this case, certain sentence structures have been
analyzed as conversationally and regularly presupposing that part of the

structure is already assumed to be true. Ex: where did you buy the bike?


- Non-factive presupposition is one that is assumed not to be true. Ex: I
dreamed that I was rich.
- Counter- factual presuppositions meaning that what is presuppose is not only
not true, but is the opposite of what is true, or contrary to fact’s.
Type

example

Presupposition

Existential

The X

X exists

Factive

I regret leaving

I left

Non- factive

He presentended to be He was not happy.
happy.

Lexical

He managed to escape He tried to escape.

Structure

When did she die?

She died.

counterfactual

If I weren’t ill.

I am ill.

1. Entailment is something that logically follows from what is asserted in the
uterrence. Sentence , not speaker, have entailments.


2. The cooperative principle.
Make your conversational contribution such as required, at the stage at which it
occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are
engaged.
3. The maxims
Quantity
1. Make your contribution as information one that is required ( for the current
purpose of the exchange).
2. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.
Quantity try make your contribution one that is true.

1.

Do not say what you believe to be false.

2.

Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

Relation be relevant.
Manner be perspicuous.
1.

Avoid obscurity of expression.

2.

Avoid ambiguity.

3.

Be brief( avoid unnecessary prolixity).

4.

Be orderly.
5. Speech acts

Actions performed via utterances are generally called speech acts and, in english,
are commonly given more specific lab such as apology, complaint, complement,
invitation, promise, request.

These descriptive terms for different kinds of speech acts approach to the speaker’s
communicative intention in producing an utterance. The speaker normally expects
that his or her communicative intention will be recognized by the hearer. Both
speaker and hearer are usually helped in this process by the circumstances
surrounding the utterance. These circumstances, including on utterances are called
the speech events.

6. Fecility conditions.


There are certain expected or appropriate circumstance, technically known as
feliciy conditions, for the performance of a speech act to be recognized as
intended.
There are also precoditions on speech acts.
There are general conditions on the participants.
Ex: that they can understand the language being used and that they are not play
acting or being nonsensical.
There are content conditions.
For example, for both a promise and a warning, the content of the uterance must be
about a future event. A further content condition for a promise requires that the
future event will be a future act of the speaker.
The preparatory conditions for a promise a significantly different from those for
a warning. When people promise to do something there are two preparatory
conditions: first. The event will not have pen by itself, and second, the event will
have a beneficial effective. When I utter a warning. There are the following
preparatory conditions: it is not clear that the hearer knows the event will occur,
the speaker dose think the event will occur, and then event will not have beneficial
effect. Related to these conditions is the sincerity condition that, for a promise,
the speaker genuinely intends to carry on the future action, and, for warning, the
speaker genuinely believes that the future event will not have a beneficial effect.

Finally, there is the essential condition, which covers the fact that by the act of
uttering a promise, I there by intend to create a obligation to carry out the action as
promised.
Politeness is the mean imployed to show awereness of another person’s face.


Speech acts types
The first is locutionary act, which is the basic act of utterance, or producing a
meaningful linguistic expression.
The second is the illocutionary act is the performed via the communocative force
of an utterance. The force of the word.
Ex: I do not have any money.
-

Girlfriend

-

Boyfriend

-

Classmates.

The third is the perlocutionary act is the effect produced in the listener or reader
when they listen or read a locutionary act.
Ex: I do not have any money.
-

Accepting the request.

-

Denying(phu nhan) the request.

Speech act classification.
One general classification system lists five types of general functions performed by
speech acts: declarations, representatives, expressives, directives, and commissive.
- Declarations are those kinds of speech acts that changethe world via their
utterance.
- Representatives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker
believes to be the case or not. Ex: the earth is flat.
- Expressives are those kinds of speech acts that state what the speaker feel.
They express psychological states and can be statements of pleasure, pain,
likes, dislikes, joy, or sorrow. Ex: I’m really sorry.
- Directives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to get someone
else to do something. They express what the speaker wants. Ex: could you
lend me a pen, please?
- Commissives are those kinds of speech acts that speakers use to commit
themselves to some future action. They express what the speaker intends.
They are promise, threats, refusals… ex: I am going ato get it right next
time.


7. FTA if speaker says something that represents a threat to another
individual’s expactations regarding self- image, it is described as a
face threatening act.
8. FSA: the speaker can say something to lessen the possible threat. This
is called a face saving act.
9. Direct and indirect speech acts.

- Whenever there is adirect relationship between a structure and a function,
we have a direct speech act.
- Whemever there is an indirect relationship between a structure and a
function, we have an indirect.


10.Nagative and positive face( the dien am va the dien duong)
A person’s Nagative face is the need to be independent, to have freedom of action,
and not to be imposed on by others.
A person’s positive face is the need to be accepted, even liked, by others, to be
treated as a member of the same group, and to know that his or her wants are
shared by others. In simple terms, negative face is the need to be independent and
positive face is the need to be connected.
So, a face saving act which is oriented to the person’s negative face will tend to
show deference, emphasize the importance of the other’s time or concerns, and
even include an apology for the imposition or interruption. This is called nagative
politeness.
a face saving act which is concerned with the person’s positive face will ten to
show solidarity, emphasize that both speakers want to the same thing and that have
a common goal. This is called positive politeness.


11.Conversational style: particular way of participating in
conversation.
High involvement style: it differs substantially from another style in which
speakers use a slower rate, expect longer pauses between turns, do not overlap,and
avoid interruption or completion of the other’s turn.
This non-interrupting, non- imposing style has been called a high considerateness
style.
12. Implicature

Implicature is a technical term, which refers to what is suggested in an utterance,
even though neither expressed nor strictly implied.
Ex: john is meeting a woman this evening.
+> the woman john is meeting this evening is not his mother, his sister or his wife.
Ex: some of boys were at the party.
+> not at all the boy were at the party .
13. Illocutionary force indicating device (IFID) indication in thed
speaker’s utterance of the communicative force of that utterance.