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Index - PRAGMATICS
INDEX - PRAGMATICS ....................................................................................................................................... 1
DEIXIS AND DISTANCE ............................................................................................................................................... 1
REFERENCE AND INFERENCE ....................................................................................................................................... 2
NAMES AND REFERENTS ............................................................................................................................................ 2
PRESUPPOSITION AND ENTAILMENT ............................................................................................................................. 3
Presupposition ................................................................................................................................................ 3
COOPERATION AND IMPLICATURE................................................................................................................................ 3
SPEECH ACTS AND EVENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 4
IFIDS .................................................................................................................................................................... 4
FELICITY CONDITIONS................................................................................................................................................ 4
PERFORMATIVE HYPOTHESIS ...................................................................................................................................... 4
SPEECH ACT CLASSIFICATION ...................................................................................................................................... 4
POLITENESS AND INTERACTION ................................................................................................................................... 5
CONVERSATION AND PREFERENCE STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................... 6
ADJACENCY PAIRS .................................................................................................................................................... 6
DISCOURSE AND CULTURE.......................................................................................................................................... 7
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................ 7
CROSS-CULTURAL PRAGMATICS .................................................................................................................................. 7
PRAGMATICS – is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker and
interpreted by a listener – what is meant? (not said)
SYNTAX – the study of the relationships between linguistic forms
SEMANTICS - the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the world
PRAGMATICS – the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the uses of those forms
Regularity – fairly regular ways of behavior - social groups, similar basic experience of the world
PRAGMATICS WASTEBASKET – linguists and philosophers of language tended to push any notes they had
on everyday language use to the edges
DEIXIS AND DISTANCE
DEIXIS = referring, ‘pointing’ via language
DEICTIC EXPRESSION – any ling. form used to accompany this ‘pointing’
(=indexicals)
4 types: a) PERSON DEIXIS (me, you)
b) SPATIAL DEIXIS (there, here)
c) TEMPORAL DEIXIS (now, then)
d) DISCOURSE DEIXIS – structuring the utterance (firstly…, )
DEICTIC CENTER – speaker’s location (relative)
PROXIMAL TERMs – this, here, now – ‘near speaker’
DISTAL TERMs – that, there, then – ‘away from speaker’
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a) T/V DISTINCTION (tu/vous), HONORIFICS

Exclusive ‘we’ – speaker + other(s), excluding addressee
 Inclusive ‘we’ – speaker + addressee included
b) come – to the speaker / go – away from speaker
DEICTIC PROJECTION – speakers project themselves to a certain location when temporarily away
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE – can mark something far away as ‘here’ and st close as ‘that’
TENSES AND TIME:
PROXIMAL – present tense – closeness
DISTAL – past tense – distance
TENSE X
Present
Past
TIME
present
present (distance, hypothetical – If I were you…)
Past
past
Present
past (historical present, story-telling, jokes)
Would – hyp / will – real
If I had (past tense – hypothetical) money, I would (distal, hypothetical) buy (present=now) it.
REFERENCE AND INFERENCE
REFERENCE – act in which addresser uses linguistic forms to enable addressee to identify something
REFERRING EXPRESSIONS – proper nouns (Shakespeare), definite noun phrases (the author) or
indefinite (a man), and pronouns (she)
INFERENCE (dedukce) – listener must be able to correctly understand which entity the speaker
identifies by particular referring expression
ATTRIBUTIVE USE – ‘He wants to marry a woman with lots of money.’ – ‘a’ can be replaced by ‘any’ –
meaning ‘whoever fits the description
REFERENTIAL USE – certain person in mind
NAMES AND REFERENTS
Person identified via ‘the cheese sandwich’, thing via ‘Shakespeare’
PRAGMATIC CONNECTION – between proper names and objects associated
‘Brazil wins World Cup.’
CO-TEXT – linguistic material accompanying the referring expression (wins World Cup)
RANGE OF REFERENCE – provided by ref. expression, it is a number of possible referents > different cotext leads to different interpretation
CONTEXT – the physical environment (‘Your ten-thirty just cancelled.’ = person)
ANAPHOR – the second or subsequent expression to already introduced referents
ANTECEDENT – the initial expression
CATAPHORA – when pronoun ‘it’ is used first and is difficult to interpret until fully explained
ZERO ANAPHORA (ELLIPSIS) – ‘Cook (?) for three minutes.’ – no linguistic expression is present
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PRESUPPOSITION AND ENTAILMENT
PRESUPPOSITION (předpoklad) – that what speaker assumes is the case prior to making an utterance
(‘Mary’s brother died.’ – pres. - a person Mary exists, she has a brother )
ENTAILMENT – something that logically follows from what is asserted in the utterance
Presupposition
-relationship between two propositions:
Mary’s dog is cute. (=p) Mary has a dog. (=q) p>>q
Mary’s dog isn’t cute. (= NOT p) Mary has a dog. (=q) NOT p>>q
TYPES: POTENTIAL PRES. – can only become actual presupposition in contexts with speakers.
EXISTENTIAL PRES. – possessive construction is associated with a pres. of existence.
FACTIVE PRES. – pres. information after a verb like ‘know’ can be treated as a fact
LEXICAL PRES. – one form with a meaning presupposes another meaning is understood
STRUCTURAL PRES. – part of the sentence structure is already assumed to be true
NON-FACTIVE PRES. – assumed not to be true (‘dream’, ‘imagine’,…)
COUNTER-FACTUAL PRES. – what is presupposed is the opposite of what is true
PROJECTION PROBLEM – the meaning of some presuppositions doesn’t survive to become meaning of
some complex sentences
ENTAILMENT (a necessary consequence of what is said) is simply more powerful than the
presupposition
BACKGROUND ENTAILMENTS – they appear when a speaker utters a sentence
FOREGROUND ENTAILMENT – typically by stress – the speaker communicates which entailment is
assumed to be in the foreground
STRESS FUNCTION similar to it-cleft construction ‘It was ROVER that chased the squirrels.’
COOPERATION AND IMPLICATURE
TAUTOLOGIES – apparently pointless expressions (Boys will be boys) – speaker intends to
communicate more than is said
IMPLICATURE – additional conveyed meaning than just what the words mean
COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE – the assumption of cooperation, elaborated into 4 sub-principles>
MAXIMS – of quantity, quality, relation, manner
a) QUALITY – be true, do not say st false / measured by the number of expressions we use to
indicate not certainty ( As far as I know, I guess, …) – cautious notes = HEDGES >
b) QUANTITY – as informative as required, don’t make it more informative than is required
/(So, to cut long story short, we started to run.)
c) RELATION – be relevant / markers of relevance level ‘Oh, by the way’ – mention something not
relevant
d) MANNER – be brief, be orderly, avoid ambiguity,… / ‘I’m not sure if this makes sense’
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SPEECH ACTS AND EVENTS
SPEECH ACTS – actions performed via utterances
SPEECH EVENTS – circumstances surrounding the utterance that help both speaker and hearer in the
process of communication
SPEECH ACTS

the action performed by producing an utterance will consist of three related acts:
a) LOCUTIONARY ACT – the basic act of utterance – producing meaningful linguistic expression
b) ILLOCUTIONARY ACT (il. force) – we form an utterance with some kind of function in mind
c) PERLOCUTIONARY ACT (per. effect) – we create an utterance so the hearer will recognize the
effect we indended
ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE most important
IFIDS
Illocutionary Force Indicating Device
PERFORMATIVE VERB (Vp) – verb that explicitly names the illocutionary act performed ‘I (Vp) you
that…’ > promise, warn
FELICITY CONDITIONS

certain expected or appropriate circumstances for the performance of a speech act to be
recognized as intended
GENERAL CONDITIONS – preconditions on speech acts (e.g. that you can understand the language)
CONTENT CONDITIONS – e.g. for both a promise and a warning the content of the utterance must be
about a future event
PREPARATORY CONDITIONS – for a promise are significantly different from those of a warning
SINCERITY CONDITIONS – the speaker intends to perform certain actions (promise/warning)
ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS – the utterance changes my state from non-obligation (promise) or noninforming (warning) to obligation or informing
PERFORMATIVE HYPOTHESIS
=underlying every utterance (U) there is a clause containing a performative verb (Vp) which makes
the illocutionary force explicit – ‘I (hereby) Vp you (that) U.’
EXPLICIT (strict) vs IMPLICIT (not clear – warning/order/…) PERFORMATIVES
SPEECH ACT CLASSIFICATION
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
DECLARATIONS – ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife.’
REPRESENTATIVES – ‘The earth is flat.’
EXPRESSIVES – ‘I’m really sorry!’
DIRECTIVES – ‘Don’t touch that!’
COMMISSIVES – ‘I’ll be back.’
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Relationship of structural forms and communicative functions:
a) DECLARATIVE – statement “You wear a seat belt.”
b) INTERROGATIVE – question “Do you wear a seat belt?”
c) IMPERATIVE – command/request “Wear a seat belt!”
- direct relationship = DIRECT SPEECH ACT (It’s cold outside – statement)
- indirect relationship = INDIRECT SPEECH ACT (It’s cold outside > close the window –
request)
SPEECH EVENT – an activity in which participants interact via language in some conventional way to
arrive at some outcome
POLITENESS AND INTERACTION
-social distance vs. closeness
POLITENESS
-idea of ‘polite social behavior’ within a culture
FACE – the public self-image of a person, the emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and
expects everyone else to recognize
POLITENESS – the means employed to show awareness of another person’s face
FACE WANTS – the public self-image, people want it to be respected
FACE THREATENING ACT – a threat to another individual’s expectations regarding self-image
FACE SAVING ACT – something said by the speaker to lessen the possible threat
NEGATIVE FACE – the need to be independent, to have freedom of action and not to be imposed on by
others
POSITIVE FACE – is the need to be accepted by others, to be treated as a member of the same group
and to know that his or her wants are shared by others
NEGATIVE POLITENESS – a face saving act which is oriented to the person’s negative face, will tend to
show deference, emphasizing the importance of other’s time or concerns
POSITIVE POLITENESS – a face saving act which is concerned with the person’s positive face, will tend to
show solidarity, emphasizing that both speakers want the same thing
OFF RECORD (Uh, I forgot my pen) vs ON RECORD (Give me a pen – BALD ON RECORD )
‘please’, ‘would you?’ – MITIGATING DEVICES
POSITIVE vs. NEGATIVE POLITENESS STRATEGY
(“Hey, buddy, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me use your pen.” Vs. “Could you lend me a pen?”)
SOLIDARITY STRATEGY – ‘we’, ‘let’s’ vs. DEFERENCE STRATEGY ( FORMAL POLITENESS ) – impersonal
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CONVERSATION AND PREFERENCE STRUCTURE
-the most widely used analytic approach is based on an analogy with the workings of a market
economy:
FLOOR – right to spook
TURN – having control of this at any time
TURN-TAKING – in any situation where control is not fixed in advance, anyone can attempt to get
control
LOCAL MANAGEMENTS SYSTEM – it is known by members of a social group, turn-taking operates in
accordance with it
OVERLAP – both speakers trying to speak at the same time – can be harmonic or competing
ATTRIBUTABLE SILENCE – when one speaker turns over the floor to another and the other does not
speak – silence is attributed to the second speaker and becomes significant
BACKCHANNEL SIGNALS (BACKCHANNELS) – the indication that the listener listens to the speaker, e.g.
‘uh-uh’, ‘yeah’, ‘mmm’ – indicate that the listener is following and not objecting
CONVERSATIONAL STYLE

HIGH INVOLVEMENT STYLE vs. HIGH CONSIDERATENESS STYLE
o (active conversation, fast speaking rate, no pause between turns vs. slow, do not
overlap,…)
ADJACENCY PAIRS

almost automatic patterns in the structure of conversation (“How are you?” “Fine.”)

always consist of a FIRST PART and a SECOND PART , produced by different speakers

TYPES:
o
o
o
o
OPENING SEQUENCES – “How ya doin’?” “Can’t complain.”
QUESTION-ANSWER SEQUENCE – “What time is it?” “About eight-thirty.”
THANKING-RESPONSE – “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.”
REQUEST-ACCEPT – “Could you help me with this?” “Sure.”
INSERTION SEQUENCE – one question-answer sequence intervenes first Q-A sequence (Q1-Q2-A2-A1)
PREFERENCE STRUCTURE – a first part (request/offer) is made in the expectance that the second part
will be an acceptance.; an acceptance is structurally more likely than a refusal = PREFERENCE

divides
second
parts
(disagree/refuse/decline)

SILENCE
into
PREFERRED
(agree/accept)
and
DISPREFERRED
in the second part – indication of a disprefered response – often leads the first
speaker to revise the first part to get a second part
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DISCOURSE AND CULTURE
language: INTERPERSONAL FUNCTION – taking part in social interaction
TEXTUAL FUNCTION – creating well-formed and appropriate text
IDEATIONAL FUNCTION – representing thought and experience in a coherent way
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

focuses on the record (spoken or written) of the process by which language is used in some
context to express intention

Pragmatic side focuses specifically on aspects of what is unsaid or unwritten, yet
communicated

COHERENCE – what is said or written will make sense in terms of speaker’s normal experience of
things; emphasis on familiarity and knowledge

we often tend not to see possible alternatives, we automatically fill in detail to create
coherence

SCHEMA (plural SCHEMATA) - a pre-existing knowledge structure in memory
o fixed, static pattern to the schema – FRAME (apartment – kitchen, bathroom and
bedroom)
o SCRIPT – more dynamic type of schema, a pre-existing knowledge structure involving
event sequences

CULTURAL SCHEMATA – are developed in the contexts of our basic experiences
CROSS-CULTURAL PRAGMATICS

includes the study of differences in expectations based on cultural schemata
CONTRASTIVE PRAGMATICS – the study of different cultural ways of speaking
INTERLANGUAGE PRAGMATICS – focus on the communicative behavior of non-native speakers,
attempting to communicate in their second language
PRAGMATIC ACCENT – aspects of our talk that indicate what we assume is communicated without
being said
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