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English Semantics and Pragmatics
English Semantics and Pragmatics
NG NGHA NG DNG HC
TING ANH
CONTENTS
PART 1: SEMANTICS
I.
DEFINITION
II.
III.
IV.
11
V.
15
1. Definition
15
2. Types of reference
16
REFERRING EXPRESSIONS
21
VI.
25
1. Word meaning
25
a/ Denotative meaning
25
b/ Connotative meaning
25
2. Sentence meaning
a/ Linguistic / literal meaning
Semantic roles
26
26
27
32
33
Simile
33
Metaphor
33
Irony
35
Sarcasm
35
Synecdoche
35
Metonymy
36
Personification
37
Hyperbole
37
Euphemism
37
IX.
40
1. Anomaly
40
2. Ambiguity
41
Definition
41
Types of ambiguity
42
43
MEANING RELATION
54
1. Word relation
54
Synonym
54
Antonym
55
Homophone
56
Homograph
57
Homonym
57
Polysemy
57
Hyponymy
57
2. Sentence relation
60
Entailment
60
Contradiction
61
3
Paraphrase
X.
62
o Types of Paraphrase
62
63
PART 2. PRAGMATICS
I.
DEFINITION
78
II.
SPEECH ACT
78
1. Definition
2. Components
III.
80
1. Setting
2. Participants / Characters
3. Relation
4. Message
5. Tone used
IV.
82
1. Declarative
2. Representative
3. Expressive
4. Directive
5. Commissive
V.
89
VI.
IMPLICATURE
91
1. Definition
2. Types of implicature
VII. PRESUPPOSITION
103
1. Definition
2. Types of presupposition
REFERENCES
144
PART 1: SEMANTICS
I. DEFINITION
Semantics is the study of meaning in language.(Hurford & Heasley,
1983: 1)
Semantics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms
and entities in the world; that is, how words literally connect to
things. Semantic analysis also attempts to establish the relationship
between verbal descriptions and states of affairs in the world as
accurate (true) or not, regardless of who produces that description.
(Yule, 1996:4)
II. SENTENCES, UTTERANCES AND PROPOSITIONS
1. A sentence (cau) is a string of words put together by the
grammatical rules of a language. (Hurford & Heasley, 1983: 16)
Ex:- A house was struck by lightening last night.
- Money doesnt make happiness.
2. An utterance (phat ngon) is a piece of language (a sequence
of sentences, a single phrase, or a single word) used by a
particular speaker on a particular occasion. (Hurford & Heasley,
1983: 15)
Ex:- Hello
- Not much
6
Sentences
Propositions
Example:
Father
+ human
Each
Assassin + human
+ male
factor is
+ adult
+ adult
a Semantic
+ killer
+ married
Property
+ kill a VIP
+ having children
Bachelor
+ human
Teacher
+ human
+ male
+ adult
+ adult
+ earn living
+ unmarried
by teaching
1. CHARACTERISTICS
a. Primitive elements: basic primitive concepts in linguistics. They
are left undefined.
Ex: human, male, animal, color etc.
b. The same semantic feature may be found in the meaning of
different words.
Ex: Father, mother, son, daughter, teacher baby all share the
same semantic feature [+ human].
Mother, daughter, hen, bitch, swine all share the same
semantic feature [+female].
c. The same semantic feature may be found in words of different
parts of speech.
10
(B) Hypernym
Hyponymy
Bachelor Father
Mother Baby
Uncle
Sister
(A) Hyponyms
Hyponym (h danh) is a word whose referent is totally included in
the referent of another term. (hypo- means below) (Finegan.
1994:165).
Hypernym (thng danh) is a word whose referent covers all the
referents of its hyponyms. (hyper- means above).
11
Ex 2:
Male (Hypernym)
Boy Brother
Uncle
Ram
Stallion Ox
Bull
(Hyponyms)
Ways of organizing related words into different lexical / semantic fields.
1. Items related by topics
a. Fruit: apples, oranges, grapes, bananas etc.
b. Clothing: shirts, pants, shorts, hats etc.
c. Color: green, red, blue, purple, pink etc.
2. Items which are similar in meaning
a. Ways of cooking: stew, boil, fry, steam, roast etc.
b. Ways of walking: limp, tiptoe, stalk etc.
c. Ways of looking: stare, peer, glance, squint etc.
3. Items grouped as an activity or a process
12
13
14
15
Desk
rence
Refe
Sens
e
2. Types of reference.
1) Variable Reference: same expression may refer to different
objects. For example:
My mother (referring to the mother of the speaker) may refer to
many different ladies depending on different speakers.
Here in the sentence I am here (referring to the place where the
speaker is standing) also can refer to different places depending on
different speakers.
Some clues of Variable Reference
16
person.
The Morning Star and The Evening Star. Both refer to the same
star.
3) Constant Reference: one expression always refers to the same
object, (regardless who is the speaker).
Proper names, especially geographical names: John, Smith,
David, Vietnam, Laos
17
Unique things: the sun, the moon, the earth, the east, the west,
Halleys Comet,
4) No reference: an expression which is meaningful but does not
refer to anything.
Function words: and, but, if, almost,
Imaginary characters: Batman, Dragon, Superman, Snow
White, Tam Cam,
The objects that do not exist now.
Ex: The king of France is bald (France does not have any king
nowadays)
The Queen of Vietnam nowadays is a Cambodian. (no VN
queen now)
Exercise 7. Answer the following questions.
1. Does the moon normally have constant reference? Yes / No
2. Does The Peoples Republic of China normally have constant
reference? Yes / No
3. Does Angola normally have constant reference? Yes / No
4. Does Haleys Comet normally constant reference? Yes / No
5. If we are talking about a situation in which John is standing alone
in the corner, can John have the same referent as the person in the
corner? Yes / No
18
Exercise 8
What is intended by the word mean, meaning, meant in the
following examples, reference (R) or sense (S)?
1. When Helen mentioned the fruit cake, she meant that rock-hard
object in the middle of the table. R / S
2. When Albert talks about his former friend he means me. R / S
3. Daddy, what does unique mean? R / S
4. Purchase has the same meaning as buy. R / S
5. Look up the meaning of apoplexy in your dictionary. R / S
6. If you look out of the window now, youll see who I mean. R / S
7. Im sorry to have disturbed you when I said Will you move
your chair?, I didnt mean you, I meant Patrick here. R / S
8. If you look up ochlocracy, youll find it means government by the
mob. R / S
Exercise 9
1. Give an example of an expression that could have variable reference.
2. Give an example of an expression that always has constant reference.
3. Give an example of different expressions that having one referent.
4. Give an example of an expression that has no reference.
19
20
I saw a boy
yesterday
21
My sister is a singer
Yesterday, I met a singer
Im looking for a car to buy
I bought a car in a showroom on Nguyen Hue Street.
3. Not a referring expression
Something general: family, society, people,
Representative of social classes or species: the poor, the rich, the
elephant, dogs, cats,
Profession/ Job: singer, teacher, lawyer,
Ex: The singer in The singer I admire most is SilkBlack is a RE
because it refers to a particular person.
A singer in My sister is a singer is not a RE because it is a
job in general.
Note: Whether an expression is a referring expression or not is
heavily dependent linguistic context and on circumstances of
utterance.
Exercise 13
Could the following possibly be used as referring expressions?
1. John
yes / no
2. my uncle
yes / no
3. and
yes / no
22
yes / no
5. a man
yes / no
6. my parents
yes / no
7. send
yes / no
8. under
yes / no
24
25
He is a pig =>
- Lazy
- Greedy
- Stupid
- Dirty
26
The two sentences (1) & (2) have different meanings because the
words have different syntactic functions.
(2) The hunter bit the lion # (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S
O
S
O
The sentences (2) & (3) have different meanings although the words
have the same syntactic functions.
(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S
O
S
O
The sentences (1) & (3) have the same meaning although the words
have different syntactic functions. What makes the meaning of the
two sentences similar or different? It is what is called semantic roles,
the third factor making up the meaning of a sentence.
SEMANTIC ROLES
a. Definition
A semantic role is the role performed by a noun phrase in relation
to the verb.
b. Types
o Agent: the one that initiates an action (person/ animal + action verb)
Ex: Paul opened the door
o Patient: the one that is affected by the action
Ex: Paul opens the door
The door opened at the first blow of wind
27
29
(1) The lion bit the hunter = (3) The hunter was bitten by the lion.
S/A
O/P
S/P
O/A
The two sentences have the same meaning because they have the same
semantic roles although the syntactic functions are different.
Exercise 15. Identify the semantic role of the noun phrases in the
following sentences
1. The student couldnt finish the assignment because the library
was closed.
2. The couple raced the horses through the meadow yesterday
morning.
3. The teacher was angered by the rowdy students.
4. I recall hearing my brother say that.
5. Tom lent me enough money to pay the rent.
6. At the reunion he ran into his cousin Karl.
7. The farmer went to the field before dawn.
8. The building was constructed in a commercial zone.
9. A big tree was rooted up by the storm last night.
10. I enjoy reading books in my free time.
11. The immigrants picked strawberries in the early June.
12. He never turned in his budget report on time.
13. The unlucky customer had the undercooked meat sent back to
the chef.
14. Traffic was backed up at the intersection because of the
accident.
15. Im very glad to meet you here after so many years.
16. The book you gave me on Teachers Day was worth reading.
17. An unfair attitude toward the poor will contribute to the
problem of poverty.
30
18. After the yolk is separated from the white, it must be boiled
immediately.
19. Nutritionists recommended that foods from each of the four
basic groups be eaten regularly.
20. It was thought for many centuries that the world was flat.
21. His ingenuity never ceases to amaze me.
22. The hurricane destroyed half of the island.
23. Angela offered the job to her former rival.
24. In the morning we left San Francisco for Austin.
25. Zelda gets angry whenever Scott lies her.
26. The remains will be shipped to Cleveland on Wednesday.
27. The boy seems to be interested in the film shown at NH cinema
last night.
28. He hates being disturbed at table.
29. As the storm raged, the waves grew higher and higher.
30. He enjoys going fishing on the lake at sunset.
31. The snow melts at the morning sunshine.
32. The chickens are ready for us to eat in 5 minutes.
33. Do you like the book I sent you?
34. Acid can dissolve a corpse in 5 minutes.
35. The man who loves her must be insane.
36. Alan was sent a special gift on her birthday.
37. Many TV programs today help students to improve their study a
lot.
38. The prisoner killed the guard then disappeared into the forest.
39. The beer made from rice drinks very well.
40. Putting one hand in the pocket, he walked around the front yard.
41. Joining the club is a good way of meeting new people.
42. She wants to know if anyone has an umbrella to lend her.
31
33
35
Ex: Have you read Khi Hng yet? (= the novels of Khi Hng)
This is not a Picasso (= a painting by Picasso)
Ex:
moving)
- The waves tore the ship into pieces. (= destroyed
completely)
Hyperbole /ha1p3:b6l1/ (cng ieu): overstatement or
exaggeration
Ex:
hungry)
- Ive invited millions of people to my party (= a lot of)
- I havent seen you for ages. (= a long time)
Euphemism /ju:f6m1z6m/ (uyen ng, noi tranh): the use
of pleasant, mild , comforting, or indirect expression for one
that is taboo, negative, offensive or too direct.
37
Ex:
22. When the White House called, the ambassador came at once.
23. My dormitory room is like a cave.
24. Come to the dormitory and see what a cave I live in.
25. If you are not happy with the service, go and talk to the City Hall.
26. The princess captures the heats of the nation.
27. He has a kind heart.
28. The river ate the bank away.
29. The captain was in charge of 100 horses.
30. You can depend on Paul; he is a rock when trouble comes.
31. Life is a dream.
32. Research says that these methods are best.
33. Little Susie is a picture of loveliness in her new dress.
34. There was a storm in Parliament last night.
35. He worked and worked until he breathed his last.
36. We are tired to death of such movies.
37. His words can be trusted.
38. The boss gave her a hot look.
39. He could not bridle his anger.
40. The organization is keeping the brake on pay rises.
41. Death is laying his icy hand on the Queen.
42. The pen is mightier than the sword.
43. A camel is a ship in a desert.
44. Your charm and good looks exceed your wit.
45. With friends like you, who needs enemies.
46. You have to pay the earth for such a masterpiece!
47. Luck almost always turns back to those who dare not face
difficulty.
48. A dead leaf fell in my lap. That was Jack Frosts card.
49. The ship plowed the sea.
39
50. The captain exploded with rage when the soldiers disobeyed him.
VIII. MEANING PROPERTIES / CHARACTERISTICS
1. Anomaly / non-sense
Anomaly is a violation of semantic rules to create nonsense.
(Finegan, 1993: 148)
Ex:
For
41
Ex:
Ex: Visiting relatives can be boring S: the relatives who are visiting
O: to visit relatives
Ex: He gave her dog meat
Ex:
=> Repeat the Adj (AN & AN): Old men & old women
=> Change their positions (N & A N): Women and old men.
Adj
N N
Ns N
PP
I saw a
-ing P
A C
which I like.
(the AC may modify the 1st N or the 2nd N => change the position
of AC)
In TB district, theres a cafe which I like (which I like
modifies cafe)
In TB district, which I like, theres a cafe ( AC modifies
district)
V
Adv
(quickly may modify sold or made => change the position of the
Adverb)
Those who quickly sold made a profit. (quickly modifies sold)
44
Adv V
Exercise 17. Identify the type of ambiguity and give two possible
paraphrases to make the meaning clear.
1. This pen is empty.
47
48
30. The car coasted into the garage with the lights on.
49
50
51
52
64. It was a plot to sell industrial secrets worth millions to the ABC
company.
53
broad = wide;
movie = film;
deep = profound;
buy = purchase
However, these words differ in their connotative / social / affective
meaning. For example, film is usually British, referring to classic
movies or art movies; meanwhile, movie is American.
Partial Synonym: a word that share one of the meanings with another.
Ex1:
cold
Love <= be fond of <= like <= be indifferent <= dislike <= hate
Test: very/ how? + Adj/ Adv much / very much / how
much+ Verb
Ex1: Old # Young => How old is he? He is very old
Ex2: Love # Hate => How much do you love her? Very much!
Complementary / Non-gradable / Binary Antonym
Two words are complementary antonyms when they exclude each
other. In other words, if one word is applicable, then the other cannot
be. (Hurford & Heasley. 1983:114)
Test: A = not B (and vice versa)
Ex1: alive # dead => alive = not dead
Ex2: open # close => close = not open
Ex3: fail # pass
student of A.
Ex3: buy # sell => If A sells a car to B; then B buys the car from A.
There are other words which are mutually opposite or incompatible,
but they cannot be put into one of the three types above. They form a
system called system of multiple incompatibility or oppositions. These
systems may have two or many members. For example:
Ex1: Season system: Spring Summer Autumn Winter.
Ex2: Physical state system: Solid Gas Liquid.
Ex3: University student system: Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior.
Ex4: Primary element system: Earth Air Water Fire.
Homophone: words of the same sound, different spellings, and
different meanings
Ex:
you ewe
meat meet
flour flower
meat meet
56
fork
for eating
for gardening
of a road
(B) Hypernym
57
Hyponymy
Bachelor Father
Mother Baby
Uncle
Sister
(B) Hyponyms
Test: A (Hypo) is a kind of B (Hyper)
Ex: A bachelor is a kind of human
A baby is a kind of human
Exercise 18 Identify the relation between the words in the following pairs
1. Same Different
2. Dead Alive
3. Love Hate
4. Married Unmarried
5. Hot Cold
6. Buy Sell
7. Liquid Gas
8. Male Female
9. Conceal Reveal
58
Exercise 19. Decide whether the following words with their different
meanings are homonymy or polysemy.
1. Grass:
5. Reel:
6. Race:
7. Bark:
of a dog of a tree
8. Fork:
9. Tail:
of a coat of an animal
10. Steer:
11. Lip:
of a jug of a person
yes / no
3. Give Take
yes / no
4. Come Go
yes / no
59
5. Give Receive
yes / no
9. Uncle Aunt
yes / no
2. Expensive Cheep
3. Parent Offspring
4. Beautiful Ugly
5. False True
6. Pass Fail
7. Hot Cold
8. Legal Illegal
9. Larger Smaller
60
entails
However,
I saw a mouse
I saw an animal
I saw an animal
&
I am a father
&
Mary is my sister
&
that
contains
synonyms
(same
62
Passive
Clause
63
The woman
in a blue dress
PP/M/Adjal
dressed in blue
PastP/M/Ajal
c) Modifier - Adverbial (Modifies
except Noun)
Phrase
Clause
Complex
64
Preposition
Cause-
Because of;
Effect
due to
Opposition/
In spite of;
Concession
despite
Coordinate
Subordinate
Transition
Conj.
Conj.
Words
for (cause);
so (result)
but;
as
though;
however; yet
although;
nevertheless
even though
Condition
with; without; or
in case of
if; even if
otherwise
unless
Note:
A simple sentence usually needs a preposition and a noun /
pronoun / noun phrase
A complex sentence requires a subordinate conjunction
and a subordinate clause
A compound sentence needs a coordinate conjunction
preceded by a comma, or a semi-colon followed by a
transition word and a comma
Ex1: It rains heavily. I stay at home.
Simple
Due to heavy rain, I stay at home.
PP/M/Aval
Complex
65
Real Subject
f) Inf
Gerund
To talk about
(Pat. 1)
Be Adj PP to inf
(Pat. 2)
(Pat. 3)
67
h) Inversion
Negative/ Semi-negative: not only, never, no sooner, in no
circumstances,
Semi-negative words: hardly, rarely, seldom,
I not only love you but also want to marry you
=> Not only do I love you but also want to marry you
He does not come home until he gets what he wants
=> Not until he gets what he wants does he come home
Only, So,
I only marry you when you graduate from University
=> Only when you graduate from University, do I marry you
You are so nice that nobody can help loving you
=> So nice are you that nobody can help loving you
Adverb for emphasis: here, there .
If the subject is a noun -> inversion ; If the subject is a
pronoun -> no inversion
The wall came down with a crash
=>
68
A/S/C
A/S/C
A/S/C
A/S/C
70
A/S/C
A/S/C
A/S/C
A/S/C
Exercise 23
In the following sentences, write a C by the contradictory sentences
and an F by the sentences that are false due to the circumstance.
1. My aunt is a man
2. Witches are wicked
3. My brother is an only child
4. The evening star isnt the morning star
5. The evening star isnt the evening star
6. Babies are adults
7. Babies can lift one ton
8. Puppies are human
9. My bachelor friends are all married
10. My bachelor friends are all lonely
71
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
P/E/C
Exercise 25. What is the relationship between the A sentences and the
B sentences below?
A
73
Exercise 26. What are the relations between the following sentences?
A
C/I
C/I
C/I
C/I
74
75
13. She hurried out the door, already late for the meeting.
15. Justin spent a year in Spain and came back speaking Spanish
fluently.
16. At the snack-bar; thats where you can get a good hamburger.
18. There are few part-time jobs now available for students.
76
23. Most of the exam papers were easy enough for all the students to
answer.
25. I would have visited you, but I didnt know that you were at home.
77
PART 2: PRAGMATICS
I. DEFINITION
Semantics and Pragmatics
Semantics is the study of language meaning. In other words, we
study the relationships between linguistic forms (language) and
entities in the world (Yule, 1996: 4). This meaning is the meaning
expressed by the words in the sentence which is out of context
(context-free) and is called semantic meaning or linguistic meaning /
literal meaning.
Pragmatics, on the contrary, is the study of language use. In other
words, it is the study of the relationships between linguistics form
(language) and the users of those forms (Yule, 1996: 4).
This
78
79
Of these three acts, the most discussed is illocutionary act. The term
speech act is generally interpreted quite narrowly to mean only the
illocutionary force of the utterance. The illocutionary force of an
utterance is what it counts as. The same locutionary act, as shown
in (1) above, may count as a statement, a complaint, a request, This
depends on the situation in which the utterance is made.
III. SPEECH EVENT / SITUATION
A speech event / situation is a particular circumstance surrounding
the utterance in which the speaker normally expects that his or her
communicative intention will be recognized by the hearer. In many
ways, it is the nature of the speech event that determines the
interpretation of an utterance as performing a particular speech act.
Components of a speech event / speech situation
1. Setting: time + place
2. Participants: people involved in a speech event ( Speaker, Hearer)
3. Role relationships: the relationship between speaker & hearer.
4. The message: what is conveyed.
5. The key: tone, manner, spirit (irony, humor, seriousness )
It is the speech situation that helps to identify the illocutionary act of
the speaker (what the speaker wants).
Ex: Theres a piece of fish on the table.
80
Situation 1:
At noon, a girl comes home from school late. All the family have had
lunch. Entering the house, she addressed her mother,
- Mom, I am very hungry. Is there something to eat?
- Theres a piece of fish on the table.
The mother wants to reassure the daughter that her lunch has not
been forgotten and suggests her having fish for lunch.
Situation 2:
At 10:00, the mother comes home from the market. She puts her bag
on the table in the kitchen and tells her daughter, Mary, theres a
piece of fish on the table.
The mother wants her daughter to prepare the lunch.
Situation 3:
A couple enter a restaurant. They come to a table in a corner to take a
seat, but on the table, theres some fish left. They tell a waiter,
Theres a piece of fish on the table!
They complain to the waiter that the table has not been cleaned
properly and want him to clean it.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ACT
Direct speech act: When there is a direct relationship between a
structure and a function, we have a direct speech act. (the intent of the
speaker is expressed directly, overtly).
81
ordering / requesting
function: Direct)
b. It is getting noisy! (statement structure; requesting function:
Indirect)
c. Do you drink tea? (interrogative structure;
questioning
function: Direct)
d. Would you like some tea? (interrogative structure; offering
function: Indirect)
IV. TYPES OF SPEECH ACT
1. Declaratives: the speech acts that change the world via their
utterance (blessing, announcing, arresting, naming, marrying, firing,
dismissing,)
Ex: a.
(announcement)
b. Referee: Youre out! (announcement)
c. Jury Foreman: We find the defendant guilty. (announcement)
2. Representatives: the speech acts that state what the speaker
believes to be the case or not (statement, assertion, conclusion,
description, claim, report, hypothesis,)
Ex:
a. Im really sorry.
b. Congratulations! (congratulation)
c. Oh, yes, great, mmmm ! (joyful approval)
4. Directives: the speech acts that speakers use to get someone else
to do something (orders, commands, requests, suggestions, asking,
advice, giving permission, giving way, warning, offer, complaint,
threat, urge, challenge, invitation,)
Ex: a. Give me a cup of coffee. Make it black.
b. Would you like a cup of coffee? (offer)
c. I cant stand the fans! (indirect request)
5.
Commissives:
83
2. Im very thirsty.
85
8. Out!
86
25. If youll wait for a minute, Ill see if the boss could see you.
26. Why dont you ask her for help?
87
88
40. I love you, but I havent graduated from the university yet.
89
90
- Mother: Now tell me the truth. Who put the ferret in the
bathtub?
- Son (who knows who did it): Someone put it there.
VI. IMPLICATURE (hm ngn)
1. Definition
Implicature is used by Grice (1975) to account for what a speaker
can imply, suggest, or mean, as from what the speaker literally
says. Implicature is an additional conveyed meaning.
Ex: - Students: Sir, how are our final exams?
- Teacher: Few of you passed.
Implicature: Not many / most of you passed. (many of you failed)
2. Types of Implicature
a. Conversational implicature
An implicature based on the assumption that the participants respect
the cooperative principles.
Ex 1: A: I hope you brought the bread and the cheese.
B: I brought the cheese.
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93
94
95
97
98
99
102
entities named.
Ex:
Marys dog is cute >> (presupposes) Mary has a dog (the
dog exists)
Your car is nice >> You have a car.
103
Ex:
I dreamed that I was rich >> I was not rich.
We imagined we were in Hawaii >> We were not in
Hawaii.
He pretends to be ill >> He is not ill.
f. Counter-factual presupposition: what is presupposed is not
only not true, but is the opposite of what is true (contrary to facts)
Ex: If you were my friend, you would have helped me >> You
are not my friend.
Exercise 34: Give a possible presupposition for the following utterances.
1. I wish I were rich.
4. I wont do it again.
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21. They are happy with the results of the final exam.
22. How fast was the car going when it ran the red light?
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PART II
PRAGMATICS
I. DEFINITION
Syntax, semantics and pragmatics
Syntax is the study of the relationship between linguistic forms,
how they are arranged in sequence, and which sequences are
well-formed.
Semantics is the study of the relationship between linguistic
forms and entities in the world; that is how words literally
connect to things. This meaning is the meaning expressed by the
words in the sentence which is out of context (context-free) and is
called semantic meaning or linguistic meaning / literal meaning.
Pragmatics is the study of language use. In other words, it is the
study of the relationships between linguistics form (language) and the
users of those forms (Yule, 1998). This meaning is the meaning that a
speaker wants to convey through an utterance in a particular context
(context-bound) and is called pragmatic meaning or speaker meaning.
Pragmatics is thus the study of speaker meaning or the study of
contextual meaning (Yule, 1998)
There are the four areas that pragmatics is concerned with.
Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning.
Pragmatics is the study of contextual meaning.
Pragmatics
is
the
study
of
how
more
gets
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Utterances
after class
cup of coffee?
meaning
make
you
stay
Warm
temperatur
in school
later than
classroom
of
the
usual
social a
illocutionary
The
act
function
of warni
the utterance ng
A request to An offer
turn
down
the heat
A
complaint
effect
students
the
is more generous
than he thought
3. Speech event
Speech events are circumstances surrounding the utterance in which
the speaker normally expects that his or her communicative intention
will be recognized by the hearer. In many ways, it is the nature of the
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Situation 2:
At 10:00, the mother comes home from the market. She puts her bag
on the table in the kitchen and tells her daughter, Mary, theres a
piece of fish on the table.
The mother wants her daughter to prepare the lunch.
Situation 3:
A couple enter a restaurant. They come to a table in a corner to take a
seat, but on the table, theres some fish left. They tell a waiter,
Theres a piece of fish on the table!
They complain to the waiter that the table has not been cleaned
properly and want him to clean it.
4. Direct and Indirect Speech Act
Direct speech act: When there is a direct relationship between a
structure and a function, we have a direct speech act. (the intent of the
speaker is expressed directly, overtly).
Indirect speech act: When there is an indirect relationship between
a structure and a function, we have an indirect speech act.
Ex: a.
ordering / requesting
function: Direct)
e. It is getting noisy! (statement structure; requesting function:
Indirect)
f. Do you drink tea? (interrogative structure;
questioning
function: Direct)
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threats,
2. Im very thirsty.
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8. Out!
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25. If youll wait for a minute, Ill see if the boss could see you.
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121
40. I love you, but I havent graduated from the university yet.
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The maxims
Quantity (informativeness)
Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the
current purposes of the exchange)
Do not make your contribution more informative than is
required.
Quality Try to make your contribution one that is true.
Do not say what you believe to be false.
Do not say what for which you lack adequate evidence.
Relation Be relevant. (Relavance)
Manner Be perspicuous.
Avoid obscurity of expression.
Avoid ambiguity.
Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
Be orderly. (Yule, 1996: 37 following Grice 1975)
Exercise 31. Are the following conversations cooperative? Which
maxim is violated?
1. - Policeman at the front door: Is your father or mother at home?
- Small boy (who knows that his father is at home): Either my
mothers gone out shopping or she hasnt.
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3. Conventional implicature
An implicature based on the convention associated with specific words.
Ex 1: I tried my best to get the ticket.
Implicature: I didnt get the ticket (tried conventionally implicates failure)
Ex 2: The teacher hasnt come yet.
Implicature: The teacher is expected to come later. (yet implicates to
be true later)
Ex 3: Even the President came to the party.
Implicature: That the President came to the party is out of expectation.
(even implicates contrary to expectation).
Exercise 32
Give a possible implicature of Bs utterance in each of the following
situations.
1. A: Did you buy salt?
B: I tried to.
Implicature:
2. A: Do any of Johns daughter speak a foreign language?
B: Mary speaks French.
Implicature:
3. A: Did many students visit you last weekend?
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Implicature:
9. A: How are Mr. Johns daughters?
B: The youngest is OK.
Implicature:
10. A: My cars broken down.
B: There is a garage round the corner.
Implicature:
11. A: What subjects is Jack taking?
B: Hes not taking Linguistics.
Implicature:
12. A: Have you brushed your teeth and tidied your room?
B: Ive brushed my teeth.
Implicature:
13. A: Who was that man you were talking to?
B: That was my mothers husband.
Implicature:
14. A: Has Betty gone to bed?
B: Her desk lamp is still on.
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Implicature:
15. A: Lets try the new Arab restaurant round the corner.
B: Im a vegetarian.
Implicature:
16. A: Meet me at Piccadilly Circus at midnight
B: Ill bring a bodyguard in that case.
Implicature:
17. A: Do you use your local swimming pool very much?
B: The salt water hurts my eyes.
Implicature:
18. A: How much do I owe you now?
B: Ill have to get my calculator.
Implicature:
Exercise 33. Choose the one that is the best implicature for the
following situations.
1. - Did you hear that Jeff has passed his oral exam?
- Finally.
a. Jeff agreed to take the oral exam again.
b. Jeff passed the oral exam and went on a vacation.
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c. She would like the man to get a night escort for her.
d. Shes afraid the man wont help her.
5. -Do you accept credit card?
- Only if the charge is more than $15.
a. The fee for charging is more than $15.
b. He cannot use a credit card if he spends less than $15.
c. The store does not accept credit cards.
d. She cannot accept cash.
6. - I hope I can still register for the speech class.
- I heard there was a long waiting list.
a. The woman has to wait in line to register.
b. It may be too late for the woman to get into the speech class.
c. The woman needs to take another class before registering for
this class.
d. The woman should go by herself to sign up for the class.
7. - Dr. John, is it possible for the exam to be an open book exam?
- Well it would be OK with me, but we have to follow the
department regulations.
a. Students can bring their books to the exam.
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132
135
137
140
56. They are happy with the results of the final exam.
57. How fast was the car going when it ran the red light?
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142
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REFERENCES
Blake N.F. and Moorhead J. 1993. Introduction to English language.
HongKong: The Macmillan Press LTD.
Fromkin, Victoria et al. 1990. An Introduction to Language. Sedney:
Harcourt.
Hurford, J.R. and B. Heasley. 1983. Semantics, A Course Book.
Cambridge University Press.
Hudson, G. 2000. Essential Introductory Linguistics. Blackwell
Publishers Ltd.
Kieu Kim Lan. 2001. Semantics and Pragmatics. ai Hoc Mo TP HCM.
Lyons, J. 1971. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge
University Press.
Pecci, J.S. 1999. Pragmatics. Routledge.
Richards, J., Platt, J. and Weber, H. 1987. Longman Dictionary of
Applied Linguistics. Longman Group Limited.
Stageberg, N.C. 1983. An Introductory English Grammar. Holt,
Rinehart and Winston.
Swan, Michael. 1995. Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press.
To Minh Thanh. 2004. Ngu Nghia Hoc Tieng Anh. NXB Tong Hop
TP Ho Chi Minh.
Yule, G. 1996. Pragmatics. Oxford University Press
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Key words:
1.
Semantics
2.
Sentences,
3.
Utterances
4.
Propositions
5.
Referring expressions
6.
Pragmatics
7.
meaning
8.
9.
implicature
10.
presupposition
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