Introduction to English Linguistics (I) Professor Seongha Rhee

Transcription

1 Introduction to English Linguistics (I) Professor Seongha Rhee

2 Ch. 3. Pragmatics ( ) 1. Discourse Meaning - Pronouns 2. Deixis 3. More on Situational Context - Maxims of Conversation - Implicature - Presupposition - Speech Acts

3 1. Discourse Meaning pragmatics: the study of language use in linguistic and situational contexts discourse > sentence foci in discourse analysis: style, appropriateness, cohesiveness, rhetorical force, topic structure, literary vs. spoken discourse genres

4 style, appropriateness, cohesiveness, rhetorical force, topic structure, literary vs. spoken discourse genres

5 linguistic context: pronoun use, disambiguation of homonyms, etc. situational context: production and interpretation with reference to: speaker, addressee, third parties, beliefs, physical environment, social milieu, topic, time of day, etc. (almost anything)

6 1.1 Pronouns Pronouns & Syntax Pronouns & Discourse

7 [Pronouns & Syntax] reflexives (=anaphors) - always bound in the sentence (1) a. Jane bit herself. b. *Jane said that Bill bit herself. c. *Herself left.

8 Coreferential Antecedent Co-indexing bound vs. free(=unbound) pronouns (2) a. *John i believes him. i b. John i believes that he i is a genius. c. John i believes him. j d. John i believes that he j is a genius.

9 I, we, you : always free (=unbound) other pronouns : context-dependent Always bound: reflexives Always free: I, we, you (cf. myself, ourselves, yourself) Context-dependent: all others

10 [Pronouns & Discourse] (3) pronoun and miscommunications The 911 operator, trying to get a description of a gunman, asked, "What kind of clothes does he have on?" Mr. Morawski, thinking the question pertained to Mr. McClure [the victim, who lay dying of a gunshot wound], answered, "He has a bloody shirt with blue jeans, purple striped shirt." The 911 operator then gave police that description [the victim's] of a gunman. [The News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, 1/21/89]

11 Discourse and context It seems that the man loves the woman. Many people think he loves her. (i) the woman = her (ii) the woman her (emphasis on her in pronunciation) (iii) the man = he (iv) the man he (emphasis on he in pronunciation)

12 Performance discourse conventions decide naturalness. It seems that the man i loves the woman j. Everyone thinks that the man i loves the woman j. My aunt has been dieting strenuously. My uncle has, too. (ellipsis) My aunt has been dieting strenuously, and she has lost a good deal of weight. My mother has, too.

13 Pronouns and Situational Context - "bound" to the NP antecedent Mary thinks he loves her. her = Mary (her is bound) her Mary (her is not bound; unbound; free)

14 "bound" to the quantifier antecedent Every girl in the class hopes John will ask her out on a date. her = every girl (her is bound) her every girl (her is not bound; unbound; free)

15 1st/2nd person reflexive pronouns are always bound. 1st/2nd person non-reflexive pronouns are bound to the speaker/hearer in situational context. 3rd person pronouns may be either bound or unbound.

16 3. Deixis deixis: expressions whose reference relies entirely on the situational context of the utterance

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20 I will kill you here today. person deixis: this person, that man, these women, those children time deixis: now, then, tomorrow, this time, that time, seven days ago, two weeks from now, last week, next April... place deixis: here, there, this place, that place, this ranch, those towers over there, this city, these parks, yonder mountains...

21 pronouns (person deixis): my you ours... (cf. expletive it) demonstratives (demonstrative articles): this that these those. temporals (time deixis): now then tomorrow yesterday.. locatives (place deixis): here there... directionals (direction deixis): before behind left right front back below...

22 Deixis interpretation may vary by language. cf. Japanese kuru/iku, Korean ota/kata, English come/go

23 deixis as source of humor Chicken to other chicken: "Hey, how do I cross to the other side of the road?" Reply: "You're ON the other side. "Thank you always for being there."

24 4. More on Situational Context Much discourse is telegraphic and defective. Interpretations are situation-dependent. "Can you pass me the salt?" "It's cold in here." "You're standing on my foot."

25 [Maxims of Conversation] Paul Grice The Cooperative Principle (cf. Quality, Quantity, Relation, Manner) Manner: avoid obscurity of expression/ ambiguity//be brief/orderly

26 Quantity Maxim: Say neither more nor less than the discourse requires. Relevance Maxim: Be relevant. Manner Maxim: Be brief and orderly; avoid ambiguity and obscurity. Quality Maxim: Do not lie; do not make unsupported claims.

27 Quantity violation example (out of context) "I have never slept with your wife." Can you pass the salt? - Yes, I can. Relevance interpretation example (when a window is open) It's cold in here.

28 [Implicature] (4) A: Smith doesn't have any girlfriends these days. B: He has been going to Dallas a lot lately. (implicature: Smith has a girlfriend in Dallas.) A: Oh, he goes to Dallas to visit his mother who is ill. (implicature cancelled)

29 [Presuppositions] implicit assumptions about the real world Have you stopped hugging your sheepdog? Who bought the badminton set? John doesn't write poems anymore. The present King of France is bald. Would you like another beer? prohibition of implicated language at court cf. Have you stopped beating your wife?

30 [Speech Acts] how we do things with sentences performative verbs: bet, challenge, promise, warn, order, move,.. (5)a. I bet you five dollars the Yankees win. b. I challenge you to a match. c. I dare you to step over this line. d. I fine you $100 for possession of oregano.

31 e. I move that we adjourn. f. I nominate Batman for mayor of Gotham City. g. I promise to improve. h. I resign! i. I pronounce you husband and wife.

32 Performative Verb Test: I hereby... I hereby apologize to you. *I hereby know you. *I hereby love you. *I hereby despise this ground.

33 illocutionary force (cf. locution, illocution, perlocution) Can you pass me the salt?

34 Thank you! See you next week!