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English 306A; Harris 1
Text structure?Pragmatics?
Pragmatics!
English 306A; Harris 2
Pragmatics
Interpersonal functionAustinian Speech ActsGricean Conversational Principles
English 306A; Harris 3
Speech Acts
Sam-I-Am’sbeen here.
I can’t find any whisky!
Conversational maxims
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English 306A; Harris 4
Functions
Ideational function:What does “The cat is on the mat” mean as an expression in
the system of English?How?
Denotation, truth conditions, event schemata, semantic roles, …
Interpersonal function:What does “The cat is on the mat” mean to hearer X, when
said by speaker Y, in context Z?How?
Speech acts, conversational maxims, face principles, deixis, …
English 306A; Harris 5
Functions
Ideational function:What does “The cat is on the mat” mean as an expression in
the system of English?How?
Denotation, truth conditions, event schemata, semantic roles, …
Interpersonal function:What does “The cat is on the mat” mean to hearer X, when
said by speaker Y, in context Z?How?
Speech acts, conversational maxims, face principles, deixis, …
English 306A; Harris 6
Meaning
SemanticsPropositionsTruth/falsityContext-freeLanguage-in-vitro
PragmaticsUtterancesAppropriatenessContext-dependentLanguage-in-vivo
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English 306A; Harris 7
Ideational function
What we’ve been studying to this point:Language from the perspective of encoding ideas, and the mechanicsof transmitting those ideas, within the system of a language.
English 306A; Harris 8
Interpersonal function
Language from the perspective of making andmaintaining human contact, so we cancoöperate, negotiate, decide, get along, buildbridges, and generally function as socialanimals.
English 306A; Harris 9
Interpersonal function
A supplement to the ideational function—not asubstitute—but a crucial supplement.
The ideational function is necessary, but notsufficient.
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English 306A; Harris 10
Phatic communionsocial contact
Communicativemental contact
Interpersonal function
English 306A; Harris 11
Interpersonal functionPhatic
The use of language to establish or maintainsocial relations
Sam!
English 306A; Harris 12
Phatic
Utterances whosechief function is toestablish or maintaincontact; much likecanine gluteus-maximus reciprocalolfactory analysis.
Hi, Hello, yo, …How are you, How’s it going,
How’s it hanging, …Live long and prosper, Keep
on truckin, Keep it real, …Nice weather, Cold enough
for you?, Hope the raindon’t hurt the rhubarb, ….
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English 306A; Harris 13
Interpersonal functionCommunicative
The use of language to encode and transmitintentions
I will try them. You will see.
English 306A; Harris 14
Interpersonal functionCommunicative
The use of language to encode and transmitintentions
Wait! Hold the presses.That sounds like theideational function!What gives?
English 306A; Harris 15
Interpersonal functionCommunicative
The use of language to encode and transmitintentions
Not quite. Notice theword is “intentions,”not “ideas”.
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English 306A; Harris 16
Interpersonal functionCommunicative
The use of language to encode and transmitintentions
Take, for instance, theutterance, If you will let me be,I will try them. You will see.
Ideationally, it’s just a pair ofpropositions.
Communicatively, it’s asurrender, a capitulation, acollapse of my resolve, and aprediction that I won’t like yourdamn viridescent chow!
English 306A; Harris 17
Communicative
Utterances whosechief function is toshare mental contents
InformationAttitudesWorldviews
The cat is on the mat.Homer eats crap.Huh?Try them, try them, and you
may, I say.My kingdom for a horse.Please put the lid back down.Put the F&^#ing lid down!e = mc2
English 306A; Harris 18
Phatic and Communicative
=Sam!If you will letme be, I will try them. You will see.
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English 306A; Harris 19
Phatic and Communicative
Every utterance has bothphatic and communicativedimensions.
English 306A; Harris 20
Speech Acts & Conversational Maxims
J. L. AustinPeople do things with words beyond assertingtruth. We act through speech.
H.P. GriceThe way people coordinate theirspeech is very intricate. We follow maxims.
English 306A; Harris 21
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English 306A; Harris 22
Speech acts
Locutionthe utterance of a sentence withspecific denotation
Illocutionthe making of a statement, offer,promise, …
Perlocutionthe bringing about of effects onthe audience by means of utteringa sentence (persuading,entertaining, scaring, …)
English 306A; Harris 23
Locutionthe utterance of a sentence withspecific denotation
Illocutionthe making of a statement, offer,promise, …
Perlocutionthe bringing about of effects onthe audience by means of utteringa sentence (persuading,entertaining, scaring, …)
Speech acts
English 306A; Harris 24
Locutionthe utterance of a sentence withspecific denotation
Illocution= the speech act
Perlocutionthe bringing about of effects onthe audience by means of utteringa sentence (persuading,entertaining, scaring, …)
Speech acts
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English 306A; Harris 25
Illocutions/Speech Acts
pronouncement
pronouncement
statement
confirmation
despisement
(iconicstatement)
English 306A; Harris 26
Illocutions/Speech Acts
pronouncement
pronouncement
statement
confirmation
despisement
(iconicstatement)
FelicityConditions
English 306A; Harris 27
despisement
FelicityConditions
The physical and socialconditions under which aspeech act can beperformed
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English 306A; Harris 28
FelicityConditions
The physical and socialconditions under which aspeech act can beperformed
I christen thee“The Good Ship
Lollypop”!
English 306A; Harris 29
Acts through speechOffer, decline, accept, promise, bet, warn, threaten, suggest,
advise, declare, marry, christen, compliment, insult, joke, …Felicity conditions: appropriate intentions; appropriate
circumstances; appropriate actions.
Try them! Try them! Trythem and you may I say!
Sam!If you will let me be, Iwill try them. You will
see.
English 306A; Harris 30
Categories of speech acts(Dirven and Verspoor, Table 1, chapter 7)
Ritualized social circumstances (thank someonewhen something has been exchanged, sentence attermination of trial, pronunciation of marriage,…);utterance primarily constitutes act.
Communicate, or request communication ofinformation (assert facts, question truth of facts, solicitthe completion of an assertion, …); utterance primarilyengages in trafficing information.
Commit self or solicit others to do something (offerassistance, request favour, make a bet, …); utteranceprimarily concerns future conduct.
Constitutive
Informative
Obligative
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English 306A; Harris 31
Communicate, or request communication ofinformation (assert facts, question truth of facts, solicitthe completion of an assertion, …); utterance primarilyengages in trafficing information.
Commit self or solicit others to do something (offerassistance, request favour, make a bet, …); utteranceprimarily concerns future conduct.
Categories of speech acts(Dirven and Verspoor, Table 1, chapter 7)
Expressive
Declarative
thanking, apologizing, …
sentencing, pronouncing, …Constitutive
Informative
Obligative
English 306A; Harris 32
Commit self or solicit others to do something (offerassistance, request favour, make a bet, …); utteranceprimarily concerns future conduct.
Categories of speech acts(Dirven and Verspoor, Table 1, chapter 7)
Expressive
Declarative
Assertive
Interrogative
thanking, apologizing, …
sentencing, pronouncing, …
asserting, describing, …
asking
Constitutive
Informative
Obligative
English 306A; Harris 33
Categories of speech acts(Dirven and Verspoor, Table 1, chapter 7)
Expressive
Declarative
Assertive
Interrogative
Directive
Commissive
thanking, apologizing, …
sentencing, pronouncing, …
asserting, describing, …
asking
requesting, ordering, …
promising, offering, …
Constitutive
Informative
Obligative
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English 306A; Harris 34
Acts through speechSpeech acts: offer, decline, accept, promise, bet, warn, threaten,
suggest, advise, declare, marry, christen, compliment, insult,joke, …
Felicity conditions: appropriate intentions;appropriate circumstances;appropriate actions.
English 306A; Harris 35
H. P. Grice
English 306A; Harris 36
How to talk
Make your conversationalcontribution such as isrequired, at the stage atwhich it occurs, by theaccepted purpose ordirection of the talk-exchange in which you areengaged.
(Grice 1975: 45)
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English 306A; Harris 37
How to talk
Coöperate.
English 306A; Harris 38
Relation
Quality
Quantity
Manner
Be relevant.
Be truthful.
Be sufficient (but not prolix).
Be perspicacious.
How to talk, more specificallyGrice’s Maxims
English 306A; Harris 39
How to talk and interpret; conversational implicatureGrice’s Maxims
Not moral or social injunctions
Empirically derived principles
Maxims that people naturallyfollow, and generally expectothers to follow
To speak
To understand (conversationalimplicature)
Observable mostly in violation
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English 306A; Harris 40
Maxim of relationIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be relevant.A1: Yep, there’s a gas station at
King and Weber. [closed]A2: Nope, you’ll have to go all the
way to Erb Street;everything’s closed aroundhere because of the anthraxscare.
English 306A; Harris 41
Maxim of qualityIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be truthfulSay what you believe to
be true.Don’t say what you
believe to be false.
English 306A; Harris 42
Maxim of qualityIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be truthfulSay what you believe to be
true.Don’t say what you believe
to be false.A1: Nope. [ommitting that there
is gas bar at the CanadianTire.]
A2: Well, there’s a gas bar, if youjust need some gas.
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English 306A; Harris 43
Maxim of qualityIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be truthfulSay what you believe to be
true.Don’t say what you believe
to be false.A1: Nope. [false; there is one]A2: Yep, two lights up on the left
there’s a new PetrosaurusStation.
English 306A; Harris 44
Maxim of quantityIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Provide enough informationBut not too muchA1: Yep.A2: Sure, King and Erb.A3: Yep, King and Erb.
They have a sale ongumboots at thehardware store acrossthe street from it, too.
English 306A; Harris 45
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be clearDon’t be obscureDon’t be ambiguousBe briefBe orderly
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English 306A; Harris 46
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Tell me where I can get gas. I need it and I’m a stranger.)
Be clearYes. Somewhere near the
theatre.Don’t be obscureDon’t be ambiguousBe briefBe orderly
English 306A; Harris 47
Be clearDon’t be obscure
Yep. Next to the old Smithplace.
Don’t be ambiguousBe briefBe orderly
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Do you know where I can get some gas? I’m a stranger)
English 306A; Harris 48
Be clearDon’t be obscureDon’t be ambiguous
Maybe there is, maybethere isn’t.
Be briefBe orderly
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Do you know where I can get some gas? I’m a stranger)
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English 306A; Harris 49
Be clearDon’t be obscureDon’t be ambiguousBe brief
Sure quite a few. I know where every gasstation built in the KW area since the GreatWar was located. First, there was the OlliePetrie Service Station at the corner of …
Be orderly
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Do you know where I can get some gas? I’m a stranger)
English 306A; Harris 50
Be clearDon’t be obscureDon’t be ambiguousBe briefBe orderly
Sure. At Erb, turn right off King. To get to King,take Westmount, and turn left when you get there.Before that, go three lights down University andturn left at Westmount. First, however, …
Maxim(s) of mannerIs there a gas station around here?
(=Do you know where I can get some gas? I’m a stranger)
English 306A; Harris 51
[T]hough some maxim isviolated at the level ofwhat is said, the hearer isentitled to assume thatthat maxim, or at least theoverall cooperativeprinciple, is observed at thelevel of what is implicated.
How to listen(Conversational implicature)
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English 306A; Harris 52
Grice’s Maxims
The important point:Grice charted the many,many ways we coordinateour speech to each other’sneeds and expectations.
English 306A; Harris 53
Intention; figuration
All language dialogic (conversational).Grice’s maxims form a baseline of expectations.Figures of thought (tropes) function by violating
maxims, deviating from baseline.The ‘first reading’ doesn’t make sense, so hearers figure
out the speaker’s intention--not what the utterancemeans, but what the speaker means by thatutterance.
English 306A; Harris 54
Metonymy
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English 306A; Harris 55
Metonymy
Violates quality
English 306A; Harris 56
Metonymy
Violates quality
Satisfies relation,quantity, manner
English 306A; Harris 57
Metaphor
My love is red,red rose.
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English 306A; Harris 58
Metaphor
My love is red,red rose.
Violates quality
English 306A; Harris 59
Metaphor
Violates quality
Satisfies relation,quantity, manner
My love is red,red rose.
English 306A; Harris 60
Repetitio
My love is red,red rose.
Violates manner(brevity)
Satisfies relation,quantity, quality
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English 306A; Harris 61
Polyptoton
Violates manner(brevity)
Satisfies relation,quantity, quality
English 306A; Harris 62
Polyptoton
Violates manner(brevity)
Satisfies relation,quantity, quality
English 306A; Harris 63
Irony
Lovely day!
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English 306A; Harris 64
Irony
Lovely day!
Violates quality
English 306A; Harris 65
Irony
Violates quality
Satisfies relation,quantity, manner
Lovely day!
English 306A; Harris 66
Pragmatics
Interpersonal functionPhatic and Communicative
Speech actsInformative, Constitutive, and Obligative
Grice’s MaximsThe coöperative principle (and its ramifications)Speaking and understanding (conversational implicature)