Chapter 6 Pragmatics
The fifth Week
Key points
• The definition of pragmatics
• Micropragmatics
difficulties
• Reference
• Deixis
• Anaphora
• presuppostion
6.1 Introduction
• Pragmatics is the study of the
relationships between linguistic forms and
the users of those forms. In this threepart distinction, only pragmatics allows
humans into the analysis.
• The natural realization is that grammatical
analysis alone is not enough.
The difference between grammatical
analysis and pragmatic analysis
• First, grammatical studies look for rules while pragmatic studies look
for principles. Rules are black and white, i.e. you are either right or
wrong. For instance, you have to say “He studies linguistics”; the –s
is required by a rule. Principles are not black and white; you can
obey them to some extent and violate them to some extent. For
example, one principle says we should tell the truth and another
says we should be polite in our speech.
• Secondly, in grammar studies, we end up with products while in
pragmatics we always deal with processes. In other words, after we
have analyzed a sentence grammatically, our job is done; in a
pragmatic inquiry, we deal with an ever-unfolding process-as the
discourse goes on and on, the extra meaning of some words
become clearer and clearer.
6.2 Micropragmatics
• Phenomena such as reference, deixis,
anaphora and presupposition, are the
topics in this field.
Definition of macropragmatics
• The studies look deep into the
mechanisms by which speakers writers
encode their message in skillful ways and
how hearers\readers arrive at the
intended meanings in spite of the
differences between the literal meaning
and the intended meaning. This approach
of study is called macropragmatics.
6.2.1 Reference
• Words themselves don’t refer to anything,
people refer. Reference is thought as an
act in which a speaker, or writer, uses
linguistic forms to enable a listener, or
reader, to identify something.
The categories of referring
expressions
•
•
• Referring expressions
•
(1) proper nouns
(2) definite nouns
(3) indefinite nouns
(4) pronouns
Three-dimensional diagram
• Speakers------ reference------ intention
• Listeners------ inference------ interpretation
• Sense---reference---referent
• Word---meaning---entity
The examples of inference
• (1) a. Where is the fresh salad sitting?
•
b. He’s sitting by the door.
• (2) a. Can I look at your Shakespeare?
•
b. Sure, it’s on the shelf over there.
Logical understanding between
reference and inference
• These examples make it clear that we can use names
associated with things (salad) to refer to people and
names of people (Shakespeare) to refer to things. The
key process here is called inference. An inference is
any additional information used by the hearer to connect
what is said to what must be meant. In example (2), the
hearer has to infer that the name of the writer of a book
can be used to identify a book by that writer. In
pragmatics, the act by which a speaker or writer uses
language to enable a hearer or reader to identify
something is called reference.
Referential and attributive
uses
• 60年代，Donnellan 在其名作《指称与确定性描
•
述语》中提出确定性描述语同时具有两种不同的
用法,即归属性用法(attributive use)和指称性用法
(referential use)。
做指称性使用时，说话人用确定性描述语这一方
式来指称某一个特定的人或物，而确定性描述语
作归属性使用时，说话人是在把某种特性或属性
归诸某个符合该确定性描述语的人或物，描述此
人或物是如此这般的。
Examples of referential and
attributive uses
• a. There’s a man waiting for you.
• b. He wants to marry a woman with lots
of money.
6.2.2 Deixis
• Deixis means “pointing via language”. Any
linguistic form used to do this “pointing” is
called a deictic expression. Words like
here, there, this, that, now and then, as
well as most pronouns, such as I, we, you,
he, her and them are deictic
expressions.
Deictic center: the time of the utterance’s time; the place of the
utterance’s place, the person just giving the utterance
.
• “Near speaker” —“away from
speaker”
•
︱
•
Proximal
•
︱
• This, here, now
︱
distal
︱
that, there, then
(1) You’ll have to bring that back tomorrow,
because they aren’t here now.
• Our of context, we cannot understand this
sentence because it contains a number of
expressions such as you, that, tomorrow,
they, here and now which depend for their
interpretation on the immediate physical
context in which they were uttered.
Classification of deixis
•
•
• Deixis:
•
•
person deixis
Spatial deixis
Temporal deixis
Discourse deixis
Social deixis｝
Five types of deixis.
• (1) Person deixis: Any expression used to point to a
•
•
•
•
person: me, you, him and them.
(2) Time deixis: words used to point to a time: now,
then, tonight, last week and this year…
(3) Space/spatial/place deixis: words used to point
to a location: here, there and yonder
(4) Discourse deixis: any expression used to refer to
earlier or forthcoming segments of the discourse: in the
previous/next paragraph, or Have you heard this joke?
(5) Social deixis: honorifics (forms to show respect
such as Professor Li)
6.2.3 Anaphora (照应、回指)
(Anaphoric reference)
• In most of our talk and writing, we have
to keep track of who or what we are
talking about for more than one sentence
at a time, we use anaphoric reference.
(1) A: Can I borrow your dictionary?
B: Yean, it’s on the table.
• Here, word it refers back to the word
dictionary. The previous word dictionary is
called the antecedent (先行语), and the
second word it is called the anaphor（回
指语）or anaphoric expression.
Anaphor and antecedent
• In English, initial reference,, or introductory
mention, is often indefinite (a man, a woman, a
cat). In the example the definite noun phrases
(the man, the cat, the woman) and the
pronouns (it, he, her, they) are examples of
subsequent reference to already introduced
referents, generally known as anaphoric
reference, or anaphora. In technical terms, the
second or subsequent expression is the
anaphor and the initial expression is the
antecedent.
Cataphora
• Cataphora: I turned the corner and
almost stepped on it. There was a large
snake in the middle of the path.
Zero anaphora, or ellipsis
• Cook for three minutes.
Indirect anaphora or bridging
reference
• (2) I walked into the room. The windows looked out to the bay.
•
•
•
•
︱
Antecedent
︱
anaphor
︱
Indirect anaphora or bridging
reference
6.2.4 Presupposition
• A presupposition is something the
speaker assumes to be the case prior to
making an utterance, symbolized by >>.
Speakers, not sentences, have
presuppositions.
presupposition triggers
• In any language, there are some
expressions or constructions which can act
as the sources pf presuppositions. This
kind of expressions or constructions is
called presupposition triggers.
The following are some examples, where the
presupposition triggers themselves are italicized
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
(1) Definitive descriptions
John saw the man with two heads >> There exists a man with two heads.
(2) Factive verbs
John realized that he was in debt >> John was in debt.
(3) Change of state verbs
Joan began to beat her husband >> Joan hadn’t been beating her husband.
(4) Iteratives
The flying saucer came again >> The flying saucer came before.
(5) Temporal clauses
While Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics, the rest of social science was asleep
>> Chomsky was revolutionizing linguistics.
(6) Cleft sentences
It was Henry that kissed Rosie >> Someone kissed Rosie.
(7) Comparisons and contrasts
Carol is a better linguist than Barbara >> Barbara is a linguist.
The negative form of the above sentences has the same presupposition.
Assignments
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I. Define the following terms briefly:
(1) pragmatics
(2) deixis
(3) reference
(4) anaphora (5) presupposition
II. What are the deictic expressions in the following
utterance?
I’m busy now so you can’t do that here. Come back tomorrow.
III. What are the anaphoric expressions in the following
utterance?
Dr. Dang gave Jane some medicine after she asked him for it.
IV. What is one obvious presupposition of a speaker who
says:
(1) Where did he buy the beer?
(2) Your watch is broken.
(3) We regret buying that car.