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Pragmatics and discourse
Syntax Is the way the words relate to each other
Semantic Is the study of what the words mean themselves, out of context
Pragmatic and discourse analysis Are approaches to study language’s relations to the contextual background features. They have much in common, both study context , text and function.
- Context: Pragmatics and discourse analysis study the meaning of the words in the context, analysing the parts of meaning that can be explained by knowledge of the physical and social world, and the socio-psychological factors influencing communication.
- Text: Pragmatics and discourse analysis have in common the way how discourse (or the use of language) and text (pieces of spoken or written discourse) become meaningfully and unified for their users.
- Function: speaker’s short-term and long-term purposes about speaking and interacting verbally.
- Pragmatics differs from discourse analysis in structure of text and in the importance given to the social principles of discourse. Pragmatics takes a socio-cultural perspective on language usage.
Context Background and surrounding information. There are 3 kind of context:
- Situational context: what speakers know about what they can see around them. The situation where the interaction is taking place at the moment of speaking.
- (^) Background knowledge context: what speakers know about each other and the world. It can be:
- Cultural general knowledge that most people carry with them in their mind. The community of people who share knowledge of cultural background.
- Interpersonal knowledge, specific and possibly private knowledge about the history of speakers themselves. Knowledge acquired through a previous interaction between the speaker and hearer.
- Co-textual context: the context of the text itself.
Referring to context The act of using language to refer to entities in the context is known as Reference , that is an act in which a speaker uses linguistic form called Referring expressions. The Referring expressions points to the Referent through Deixis.
There are 3 kind of Deixis:
- person deixis personal pronoun used to point to a person (I, YOU, HE, SHE, IT, WE, THEY)
- (^) place deixis demonstrative adverbs used to point to a location (THERE, HERE) or demonstrative adjective and pronouns (THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE)
- time deixis expressions used to point to a time (NEXT DAY, THEN, NOW)
***** When Referring expression refers to something that have been mentioned in a previous conversation or text, we call this Intertextuality.
Grammatical cohesion it meshes the text together.
- Exophora/Exophoric reference: There isn’t no previous mention of the referent in the text, it depends on the context outside the text for its meaning. Ex. She was lying on the beach
“She” refers to something that the reader isn’t told about. It can refer to someone the speaker know.
- Endophore/Endophoric reference: it is an expression that refers to something in the same text. Ex. I saw Sally yesterday. She was lying on the beach.
“She” refers to someone already mentioned in the text (Sally)
There are 4 kind of Endophora:
- Anaphora “backward reference”. It links to something that went before in the previous text. Ex. The monkey took the banana. Then ate it.
“It “ is anaphoric because is referring to the banana.
- Cataphora “forward reference”. It links forward to referent in the text that follows. Ex. When he arrived home, John went to sleep.
“John” refers to the pronoun he appeared earlier than the noun.
- Substitution It avoid repetitions (one, the same, so, do, not) Ex. He has a coat of cotton. I wish I had one too.
“One” replaces “ a coat of cotton”.
- Commissives: the words commit the speaker to future acts. (promising, offering, threatening, refusing, vowing, volunteering)
- Directives: The speaker wants the hearer do something. (commanding, requesting, inviting, forbidding, suggesting)
- Expressives: the speaker's attitudes and emotions. (apologising, congratulating, deploring, regretting)
Indirect speech acts Indirect speech acts are commonly used to reject proposals and to make requests.
For example, a speaker asks, "Would you like to meet me for coffee ?" and another replies, "I have class." The second speaker used an indirect speech act to reject the proposal. This is indirect because the literal meaning of "I have class" doesn’t entail (implica) any sort of rejection. Social dimension: Indirect speech acts are so much associated with politeness , because often they are expressed as interrogatives sentences.
1. This is the case when there isn’t a familiar feeling between people. Ex. The sign in many British
restaurants, offices, petrol stations, “Thank you for no not smoking”. The expression “thank you” is used because it sounds polite than the imperative “No smoking”.
2. The speakers use indirect speech acts to express social distances (differences of status, roles, ages,
and so on) and in the formal context.
Cultural dimension: The ways of expressing speech acts vary from country to country, and from culture to culture. In India for example to express the speech act of congratulation the speaker can used: How fat you are! In this case weight is an indicator of prosperity and health.
Conversation It is an approach to the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal conduct, in situations of everyday life. Exchange structure: Look at conversation as a predetermined sequence. Acts: They covered the empty of spoken discourse as fillers (riempitivi). (Well, ok, right, yeah, what, eh, mmm..., oh really?, anyway, so, ) Moves Acts: Initiation, Response and Follow up. (IRF) Sequences:
• Pre-sequence: it prepares the ground for another sequence.
pre-selfidentification (e.g., Hi! ) pre-invitation (e.g., Are you free tonight?) pre-announcement (e.g., You won’t believe this.) pre-arrangement (e.g., Would you like to make an appointment later on?) pre-request(e.g., Do you have coffee to go?) pre-closing(e.g., Okay)
• Insertion sequence: The speaker whom the first part of conversation has been directed can do
some preliminary questions before answering with the second part. Ex: Teacher: Can you tell me the answer to question number 4?
Student: Is that one at page 6 or 7?
Teacher: At page 6. Student: Oh ok, the answer is...
• Opening structure and closing structure: At the beginning or at the end of conversation.
Cooperative principle How people interact with one another in a verbal exchange, interviews and conversation.
Grice’s Maxims:
• Maxims of quantity: People who give too little information risk their hearer not being able to
identify what they are talking about. Who give more information than the hearer needs risk to boring him.
• Maxims of quality: The speakers are expected to be sincere.
• Maxims of relation: The speakers are assumed to be saying something that is relevant to what
has been said before.
• Maxims of manner: The speakers assumed to be saying something brief and orderly.
Politeness The linguistic expression that give people space and show friendly attitude to them. (Brown and Levison)
Face is the public self image that every adult tries to project.
Negative face: the need to be independent, have freedom of action, not be imposed on by others. Positive face: The need to be accepted and liked by others, treated as a member of the group.
Strategies:
• Bald on record: This strategy is a direct way to say something, without any minimizations to
the imposition, in a direct, clear, unambiguous and concise way. Ex. Wash your hands.
• Positive politeness: This strategy is directed to a positive face, by demonstrating closeness and
solidarity, appealing to friendship, making other people feel good, and emphasising that both speakers have in common.
• Negative politeness: It expresses respect, consideration, distance between interlocutors.
Speakers use apology and hesitation. Speakers use it to avoid imposing or presuming.
• Off-record: It is an indirect strategy. Speakers use indirect expressions. It includes hints,
presumptions, irony, ambiguity, and so on.
Insertion sequence
