Lectures on Semantics and Pragmatics

Lecture SevenPragmatics

Adel Al-Thamery (PhD)General LinguisticsBasrah University

adelthamery1966@gmail.com

Definition

1: “Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.”

2: “ Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning”

3:“ Pragmatics is the study of how more gets communicated than is said”

4:“ Pragmatics is the study of the expression of relative distance.”

Invisible meaningPragmatics is the study of invisible

meaning ,that is how to recognize ,the underlined meanings which are not apparently said or written.

For example, an advertisement shows the following words:

HEATED ATTENDANT PARKING from the apparent meaning

different interpretations can be assumed like

“ You take an attendant , you heat him up , and this is the place where you can park him, another assumption may be like this “ It is a place where parking will be carried out by attendants who have been heated,” despite these interpretations on the basis of apparent meanings , we would normally understand that you can park your car in this place, that is heated area and that there will be an attendant to look after the car.

We have inferred these meanings by taking into account the context and combination of the words used by the speaker or writer.

In fact Pragmatics , is the study of investigation of such assumptions and expectations which provide us with the insights into how more gets communicated than is said.

ContextLinguistic context ( co-text)

Physical context

Linguistic ContextThe set of other words used in same

phrase or sentence.This surrounding co-text has a strong

effect on what we think the words mean.The word Bank is a homonym, a form

with more than one meaning.We know about the actual meaning of

this word on the basis of linguistic context.

If the word “ bank “ is used in a sentence together with words like steep or overgrown, we have no problem deciding which type of bank is meant. Similarly when we hear some one say that she has to get to the bank to cash a cheque, we know from the linguistic context which type of bank is intended.

Physical ContextPhysical context ( time and place in

which we encounter linguistic expression) plays a vital role in making us understand much of what we read or hear.

For example, if we see the word BANK on the wall of a building in a city, the physical location will influence our interpretation.

So we know what words mean on the basis of another type of context i.e Physical context.

DeixisIt is Greek word which means “

pointing” via language.Certain words like here there, this, that

, now , then, yesterday as well as most pronouns such as I , you, him, her , them can only be understood if we know about the context in which they are used.

For example, the sentence, “ you’ll have to bring that back tomorrow, because they aren’t here”, out of context will be quite unintelligible.

Because this sentence contain large number of certain expressions ( Deixis) which depend for their interpretation on the immediate physical context in which they are uttered.

Types of Deixis Person deixis : Any expression used to point to a person

( me, you, him, them) is an example of PERSON DEIXIS Place Deixis: Words used to point to a location ( here,

there, yonde) are examples of place Deixis Time Deixis: The expression used to point to a time

( now, then, tonight, last week, yesterday) are examples of TIME DEIXIS

All these expressions have to be interpreted in terms what

person , place or time the speaker has in mind. There is broad distinction between what is marked as distant( that ,there, then). It is also possible to mark whether the movement is happening towards the speaker’s location( come) or away from speaker’s location go) If you are looking for someone and he or she appears moving towards you, you tend to say “ Here she Comes! If , however, she/he is moving away from you in the distance, you are more like to say There she goes!

People can actually use Deixis to have fun. The bar owner who puts up a big sign that reads “ Free Beer Tomorrow( to get you to return to his bar) can always claim that you are one day too early for the drink.

Reference

The words we use to identify things are in some direct relationship to those things. In discussing deixis we assumed that the use of words to refer to people and things was simple matter. However, words themselves don’t refer to anything. People refer.

Inference

The key process here is called Inference, it is an additional information used by the listeners to connect what is said to what must be meant In the last example, the listener has to infer that name of writer of a book can be used to identify a book by that writer. Similar type of inferences are necessary t to understand some who says that Picasso is in the museum or I saw Shakespeare in London or I enjoy listening to Mozart.

Anaphora

Anaphora is a subsequent reference to an already introduced entity. Mostly we use anaphora in a text to maintain reference. When we establish a referent( e.g. can I borrow your book?) and subsequently referee to the same object( yeah, it’s on the table) , we have particular kind of referential relationship between book and it. The Second ( and any subsequent ) referring expression is an example of anaphora and the first mentioned is called the “ antecedent”

As with other types of reference, the connection between referent and anaphora may not always be direct. For example, In a complaint” I was waiting for the bus, but he just drove by without stopping” Notice that antecedent is bus and he anaphoric expression is “ he” we would normally expect it to be used for a bus. Obviously there is an inference involved here: if someone is taking about a bus in motion , assume that there is a drive. That assumed driver is inferred referent for “ he” .The term “ inference ‘ has been used here to describe what the listener or reader) does.

PresuppositionWhat speaker assumes as true or is

known by the hearer can described as presupposition

When a speaker uses referring expressions like this, he or Shakespeare in normal circumstance, she is working with an assumption that hearer know which referent is intended. In a more general way, speaker continuously design their linguistic messages on the basis of assumptions about what the hearer already knows. These assumptions may be mistaken of course, but they underlie much of what we say in the every day use of language.For example, if someone tell you “ your brother is waiting outside for you there is an obvious supposition that you have a brother.

Speech Acts Speech acts are the ways through which we interpret

meanings and use actions to convey the meanings. For example, such as requesting , commanding, questioning and informing. It is typically the case that we use the following linguistic forms with the following functions:

Did you drink milk? Question Shut the door ( please). Imperative The earth is round. Declarative When a form such as Did he…………? Are they………? Or Can

you………? is used to ask a question, it is described as Direct speech act

For example when a speaker does not know something and asks the hearer to provide the information, he or she typically produce a direct speech act of the following type:

Can you ride a bicycle? If we compare this utterance with Can you pass the salt? In

this second example , we would not usually understand the utterance as a question about our ability to do something. In fact We would not treat this as a question at all. We would treat it as a request and perform the action requested, yet this request has been presented in the syntactic for usually associated with the question. Such an example is described as indirect Speech Act. Whenever one of the forms in the set above is used to perform a function other than the one listed beside it (on the same line) the result is an indirect speech act.

Perhaps the crucial distinction in the use of these two types of speech acts is based on the fact that indirect commands or requests are simply considered more polite is based on some complex social assumptions.

Politeness Politeness in fact is showing awareness of another

person’s face. There are several ways to think of politeness. These might involve ideas like being tactful, modest and nice to the other people. In the study of linguistic politeness the most relevant concept is face. Your face in pragmatics is your public self image. This is emotional and social sense of self that every person has and expects everyone else to recognize.

Face threatening Act If someone says something that represents a threat to

another person’s self image that is called a face threatening act. For example, if you use a direct speech act to order someone to do something , for example, Give me the paper! You are acting as if you have more social power then you are performing a face threatening act.

Face Saving Act An indirect speech act in the form of a question , for

example, Could you pass me that paper please? removes the assumption of social power .You appear to be asking about ability. This makes your request less threatening to other person’s sense of self. Whenever you say something that lessens the possible threat to another’s face it is called a face saving act. You have both a negative face and positive face.

Politeness Negative Face In negative face speech act there is the need to be

independent and to have freedom from imposition. Thus a face saving act that emphasizes a person’s negative face will show concern about impression.

For example, I’m Sorry to bother you…… I know you are busy but………………….. Positive face Your positive face is your need to be connected to

belong , to be a member of the group. A face saving act that emphasizes a person’s positive face will show solidarity and draw attention to a common goal. For example, let us do this together ………………. You and I have the same problem, so ……………..

Ideas about the appropriate language to mark politeness differ substantially from one culture to the next. If you have grown up in a culture that has directness as a valued way of showing solidarity and you use direct speech acts( Pour me some coffee) to people whose culture is more oriented to indirectness and avoiding direct imposition, then you will be considered impolite. You in turn may think of others as vague and unsure of what they want. In either case it is the pragmatics that is misunderstood and unfortunately much more will be communicated that is said.

ConclusionUnderstanding how people

communicate is actually a process of interpreting not just what speakers say , but what they intend to mean.

PragmaticsWhen a diplomat says yes, he means ‘perhaps;’

When he says perhaps, he means ‘no;’ When he says no, he is not a diplomat. When a lady says no, she means ‘perhaps;’ When she says perhaps, she means ‘yes;’ When she says yes, she is not a lady      . Voltaire (Quoted, in Spanish, in Escandell 1993.)