Pragmatics • The size of the proximal area is relative and depends on the context:

Seminar Semantics and Pragmatics (11) Cuthbert is here. [in this room? in this town? in this country?...]
Andrew McIntyre (12) My arm hurts here. [at doctor’s]

1 Deixis ...........................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Types of deixis

1.1 Some basic deictic notions ...................................................................................................1
1.2 Types of deixis .....................................................................................................................2 • Spatial deixis:
1.3 Shifting deictic centre ..........................................................................................................3 • Determiners: this/that
1.4 References............................................................................................................................4 • Verbs specifying motion toward/away from speaker: come/go
2 Implicatures..................................................................................................................................5 • Adverbs (intransitive prepositions): here/there; hither/hence, thither/thence
2.1 Grice’s Maxims....................................................................................................................5
2.2 Examples of implicatures generated by the maxims............................................................5 • Temporal deixis:
2.3 Cases where maxims are not followed.................................................................................5 • Adverbs/PPs: now/then; this year/that year; at this/that point; yesterday; two days ago
2.4 Types of implicatures...........................................................................................................7 • Tense: present tense (proximal) vs. past/future tense (distal)
2.5 Some properties of implicatures ..........................................................................................8
2.6 Scalar implicatures ...............................................................................................................9 • Personal deixis:
2.6.1 Consequences of the Q PRINCIPLE ................................................................................9 • First person (Speaker: I, we)
2.6.2 Consequences of the R PRINCIPLE .................................................................................9 • Second person (hearer: you)
3 Presupposition............................................................................................................................11 A. Many linguists (e.g. Huang 2007:133ff) see gestural uses of 3rd person pronouns (like her in (2))
as deictic, and the anaphoric use of 3rd person pronouns (like that in the sentence below) as non-
deictic. Try to explain why anaphoric pronouns are not deictic.
I saw a woman sitting at the next table. She was reading a newspaper.
1 Deixis
1.1 Some basic deictic notions B. The distal forms there, then are more often anaphoric than are the proximal forms here, now.
For a related reason, non-anaphoric there is more likely to be gestural than here is. Explain
• Deixis = the phenomenon whereby the reference of certain expressions cannot be determined these facts.
without knowing to the extralinguistic context of the utterance (who uttered it where and when):
(1) I will meet you here this afternoon at 3. C. First person plural pronouns can be inclusive or exclusive. These have distinct forms in some
languages but are mostly formally identical in English. Explain this with reference to the
• The deictic centre = reference point of the text or utterance, by default the speaker/here/now. following examples.
1. [cult member to journalist:] We believe that the Great Plastic Cow guides human destiny.
• Gestural deixis: Reference determined by non-linguistic gesture (pointing, eye contact...): 2. [Nine Inch Nails song:] You and me, we’re in this together now.
(2) a. YOU are to work with HER. 3. a. Let us go home. (ambiguous) b. Let’s go home. c. *Let’s take you home.
(3) Put this candle HERE and that one THERE.
(4) [looking at map]: Neuchâtel is HERE, not HERE. • Social deixis: The T/V distinction: French tu/vous, German du/Sie, Middle English thou/ye);
(5) [handing sb. sth.]: Here you are. / Here it is. metaphorical proximity/distance on a social hierarchy (age, power, class) or in terms of
(6) It’s THIS long/loud. familiarity/solidarity. Deictic because choice of forms depends on speaker.
(7) Horowitz played the passage THIS way. [demonstrates on piano/plays recording] (13) All that he did was by thy instigation, thou viper; for I thou thee, thou traitor.
(8) When I say “now” start running. ... NOW! [time of saying now is temporal ‘pointing’] [Said at Sir Walter Raleigh’s trial, 1603]
• Remoteness: Modern Standard English, unlike other languages, has two-place spatial & D. Can you think of ways of expressing something like the T/V distinction in Modern English?
temporal deixis; other languages have more elaborate systems.
• Proximal: near reference point: here, now
• Textual deixis: metaphoric deixis in texts, often borrowing spatial/temporal deictic words:
• Distal: removed from reference point: there, then (14) [in book:] I will shortly begin my defense of the Flat Earth Hypothesis. At this point it should
be noted that my argumentation will be hard to follow unless we recall some points made in
• Other languages (e.g. some English dialects) have a three-place deictic system: chapter 3. I will therefore briefly summarise that chapter here. There I argued that…
(9) here (near speaker), there (near hearer), yonder (near neither speaker nor hearer). (15) Listen to this: John said to Bob “Go fly a kite.” He didn’t like that.
(16) Look to the left, then to the right, then cross the road –in that order.
• There are various ways of expressing degrees of remoteness more exactly than the two-place (17) hereby, therefore (=because of that), the above, the former/latter; par la présente,
system of English allows:
(10) right here, right then, this very book, way over there

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 1.3 Shifting deictic centre
• Shifting deictic centre (=deictic projection): K. Work out the difference between bring and take in the examples below.
(18) [from a textbook:] Do exercise seven now! 1. Can you {take/*bring} me there?
(19) His opponent hit the ball into the net. Now he had won the tournament. 2. {Take/*Bring} this rubbish away, please!
3. Who {brought/*took} him here?
• Shifting deictic centre as source of ambiguity:
(20) [on the phone]: There’s a hospital at the opposite end of town. L. Can you reconcile the following sentences with the answer to the last question?
(21) [letter from London to Sydney]: We will try to visit you this winter? 1. I will {bring/take} it to you.
2. I will {bring/take} it to them.
• The possibility of deictic shift seems to depend partly on the lexical items in question. Come is 3. You should {bring/*take} it to me.
usable (a) of motion to speaker or hearer (at either utterance time or arrival time), or (b) of 4. You should {bring/take} it to her.
motion to a place normally occupied by speaker or hearer, whether or not they are there at 5. She should {bring/??take} it to you.
utterance or arrival time (Huang 2007:161): 6. He should {bring/take} it to her.
(22) Should they come to your office now or stay here?
(23) Stuart will come to our flat tomorrow, but neither of us will be there. 1.4 References
(24) *Stuart will come to our former flat tomorrow, but neither of us will be there. Apart from the chapters on deixis in the textbooks by Huang, Grundy, Cruse, Levinson (see
courseplan for references), consult also:
E. Are go and here as flexible as come? Huddleston, R. & Pullum, G. 2002. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge.
Ch. 17.
F. The uses of here below (not accepted by all speakers) might appear to involve a shifting centre
of deixis, but they can also be seen as non-deictic. Why?
1. [said in Paris:] He will arrive at Sydney Airport soon. %Here he will hold a press conference.
2. In a few minutes we will reach Central Station. %The train terminates here.

G. Can you think of contexts where the following would be possible (without substance abuse).
1. I’m not here now. 2. That’s me there. 3. Unfortunately, I died recently.

H. Explain the following data (with Tuesday the 9th of January as utterance time):
1. a. *this Tuesday / *this Monday / *this Wednesday b. this Friday
2. a. this week/month/year/semester/academic year b. *this day c. *this fortnight
3. a. *This Christmas we stayed at home. b. %This Sunday we went to the park.

I. Identify a deictic and a non-deictic reading of the underlined expressions. You may have to
think of special contexts to do this.
1. There’s the school. The university is opposite.
2. Wurstbrot H. Smith’s book argues for the Flat Earth Hypothesis. This is discussed in chapter 3.
3. I met this weird person at a party yesterday.
4. Let’s take the other road.
5. An upright piano is in the middle of the room. The cat is behind the piano.
6. When did they arrive and when did they go away and when did they return?
7. Cynthia is upstairs.
8. The president is going to hold a press conference today.
9. There’s a computer in the main office. This computer is not much good.
10. When you write long texts, you should e-mail the files to yourself in case the computer crashes.
11. Gwendoline is to the left of Ethel on the photo.
12. The police found him in a local disco.

J. Complete the following equations. What is the generalisation covering all of them?
1. this book + that book = [ ] books [] = these or those?
2. me + you = [ ]
3. me + them = [ ]
4. you + them = [ ]

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2 Implicatures
B. Clashes between maxims: one maxim violated to ensure that another is fulfilled.
● Implicature: That which is implied rather than being said explicitly: (32) A: When does the second-hand shop shut today?
(25) A: Do you know the time? B: The bank is still open. B: Some time between 5 and 8.
(26) A: Do you like my singing on the CD I leant you? +> B doesn’t know exactly. (QUANTITY violated, so as not to violate QUALITY)
B: The guitar solo in the last song was great. Thanks to it I didn’t jump out the window.
M. If you were writing a phrasebook for English learners, would you include (25) in the section on C. Opting out of maxims using hedges like the following (some from Huang, p.26)
how to tell the time? If not, why not? (33) a. I don’t know if this is true, but...
b. I don’t know if this is relevant, but...
2.1 Grice’s Maxims c. I may be belabouring the obvious, but...
● Philosopher H. Paul Grice1 proposed the Cooperative Principle and some Maxims which interact d. I don’t want to change the subject, but...
to explain many implicatures that exist. e. As far as I know...
(27) THE CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE: Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at f. Oh, by the way...
which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are g. I can’t remember the other two names you’re asking for.
engaged. h. I’m no expert, but...
(28) Grice’s Maxims (=Gricean Maxims, conversational maxims) i. Anyway, moving right along...
a. MAXIM OF QUALITY: Try to make your contribution one that is true, specifically: k. I don’t know if I can explain general relativity clearly, but...
i. Do not say what you believe to be false l. ...or something...
ii. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence O. Which of the expressions in (33) opt out of which maxim?
b.MAXIM OF QUANTITY:
i. Make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purposes of the exchange D. Flouting (exploiting) maxims: infringement of maxims with the following 3 characteristics:
ii. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required (i) The infringement is blatant. Speaker thinks hearer will notice the infringement.
c.THE MAXIM OF RELEVANCE: Make your contributions relevant (ii) The cooperative principle is being adhered to (despite appearances).
d.THE MAXIM OF MANNER: Be perspicuous, and specifically: (iii) The infringement has the purpose of generating an implicature.
i. Avoid obscurity
ii. Avoid ambiguity
iii. Be brief Examples:
iv. Be orderly (34) (concert review:) Divina Cantalina produced a series of sounds which followed the score of
● The maxims are not moral laws or commands. They are rather assumptions about how a Mozart’s aria “Non mi dir”.
cooperative speaker will communicate. E.g. (28)c) means Hearers assume (if there is no evidence +> The performance was lousy. (Using the underlined bit instead of sang flouts
to the contrary) that speakers are giving information relevant to the current discourse. So if MANNER iii, implying that sang is inappropriate: her vocalisations can’t be called singing.)
something sounds irrelevant, hearers try to find a way in which it IS relevant.
(35) Job recommendation letter for a candidate for a physics professorship:
2.2 Examples of implicatures generated by the maxims TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Dr. Smith plays golf well, is always sober during
his classes, and never hits his students hard. Yours truly....
+> indicates an implicature triggered by an expression.
+> Smith is a bad candidate for the job. (To avoid violating QUALITY and being impolite by
(29) It snowed in Sydney in 1836.
writing a negative reference, the writer violates RELEVANCE/QUANTITY. Reader assumes by
+> The speaker/writer believes the statement is true. (by QUALITY)
QUANTITY that there are no relevant good qualities of Smith which could be mentioned.)
(Hence: *It snowed in Sydney in 1836 but I don’t believe it did.)
(30) A: Who did you have lunch with? B: George, Martha and Anna.
(36) In job recommendation: You will be lucky if you can get Mr. Jones to work for you.
+> Nobody else was present at the lunch. (by QUANTITY)
+> Jones is lazy. (Flouts MANNER by choosing an ambiguous way of saying “You will be
(cf. *George, Martha and Anna. I had dinner with Christine.)
lucky if you can get Mr. Jones to become your employee.” Reader assumes writer would
(31) A: I have nearly run out of petrol. B: There’s a garage round the corner.
have avoided this violation of MANNER had the laziness implicature not been intended.)
+> The garage is open now and sells petrol. (by RELEVANCE)
N. How does the Maxim of Manner apply to I went to the kitchen and made some coffee. (37) A: John’s wife is such a stupid cow. B: It’s nice weather, isn’t it.
+> A’s comment should not be discussed. (Flouts RELEVANCE)
2.3 Cases where maxims are not followed
Distinguish different types of situations in which the maxims are not followed: (38) War is war.
A. Deliberate deception (uncooperative speaker lying or telling half-truth etc.) (Tautologies of this type flout QUANTITY.)

1 (39) Some phenomena relying on the flouting of QUALITY

Grice, H. P. 1975. Logic and conversation. In. P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds.) Syntax and Semantics, a. Irony b. Metaphor
Vol. 3, Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press 1975, 41–58. Reprinted (1989) in Studies in the c. Hyperbole d. Understatement
Way of Words, ed. H. P. Grice, pp. 22–40. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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 T. If someone says something implausible, their conversation partner might reply with one of the
P. Use the maxims to explain what is odd or uncooperative about the following exchanges: following statements. Which of them are generalised? (Hint: Google the expressions to find how
1. Frank: I want to buy this book. Do you have $10 on you? they are used.
Jill: No, I don’t have $10 on me. I have 50. a. If that’s true then I’m the Queen of Sheba
2. Jane: Why did you hit him? b. If that’s true then Attila the Hun was a nice person.
Cyril: Because I wanted to hurt him. c. Pigs might fly.
3. Anna: I’m injured. It would help if you call me an ambulance. d. If that’s true then Paris Hilton is getting a Nobel Prize..
Mervyn: Ok, You’re an ambulance.
4. Nurse: Did you drink alcohol in the hospital?
Patient: If I did not opt for a negative answer, I would be extricating myself from a 2.5 Some properties of implicatures
situation in which I might not be able to escape the accusation of mendacity.
● Defeasibility: Implicatures can be cancelled, e.g. by the following factors (Huang, p.32):
5. Colleen: When is your birthday?
● If they contradict semantic entailments.
Stuart: It was on the 22nd of March this year.
(42) a. Many people hated the film. (+> Not all people hated it.)
6. Boss: I heard there were only two people in the office yesterday. Who wasn’t there?
b. Many people hated the film. In fact, everybody hated it.
Secretary: Julius Caesar, Egbert of Wessex, Leonardo da Vinci, and I could, um, name
● If they contradict world knowledge.
lots of others, but it would take quite a while.
(43) a. John and Mary bought a flat in Elm St. (+> A single flat, shared by J & M.)
Q. Identify conversational implicatures in the answers below, and explain which maxims trigger
b. The Americans and Russians tested an atom bomb in 1962.
them and how they do so.
1. Cecilia: Are you going to walk to university?
● Reinforceability: It does not sound gravely redundant to express information that would
Max: No, I’m going to fly there in a spaceship.
otherwise be assumed by the hearer on the basis of an implicature (Huang, p.34):
2. Basil: What does the chicken soup taste like?
(44) Some people left, but not everyone.
Francine: It tastes like chicken soup.
3. David: I’m going to tell that skinhead bloke to stop being an obnoxious moron.
● Non-detachability: sentences with synonymous expressions trigger the same implicatures (unless
Katie: I didn’t know you like hospital food.
the implicatures arise by the maxim of MANNER).
4. George: Where’s the sleeping bag?
(45) {Somebody/Someone left}. +> Not everybody left.
Sarah: It’s either in the garage or the cellar.
(46) He married {three times/thrice}. +> Not four times.
5. Gertrude: Are you coming to the party tonight?
Arthur: I have an assignment due tomorrow.
U. Do you think that the underlined expressions below violate any Gricean maxims?
R. The implicature in (i) below is usually attributed the Maxim of QUANTITY (e.g. Huang, p. 28, 1. I honestly didn’t see anybody enter the room before the murder happened.
Levinson, p.106). Why is this questionable, at least given the formulation of the maxim? 2. I’m not lying when I say that I think Grandma is a fantastic percussionist.
(i) She has three children. +> She has no more than three children.
(ii) If you have three young children, the state pays for special childcare services. V. Grice noted that his maxims apply to non-linguistic interaction between people. Which of the
following observations about non-linguistic behaviour corresponds to which of the maxims?
S. While three in (i) above would normally be taken to mean ‘three and no more than’, three can 1. If you want me to drive your car and the car is locked in the garage, you would give me the keys
sometimes mean ‘three or more’, as in (ii) above. Can you think of other contexts where to the garage as well as to the car.
implicatures of the type seen in (i) do not hold? Can you think of a context where three might 2. If I am making dinner and you want me to help you, you would pass me ingredients for the
mean ‘three or less’? dinner being made, and not a good book.
3. If you are a piano teacher giving Mary her first piano lesson, you will not try to teach Mary a
very complicated piece.
4. If I obviously want to put sugar in my coffee, and there is no spoon in the sugar jar, you would
2.4 Types of implicatures give me a spoon, not a falk or a trick rubber spoon that bends when you stick it in the sugar.
● Particularised implicatures applying to specific contexts.
● Generalised implicatures applying almost always whenever the expressions triggering them are
used. (p.29: generalised conversational implicature not the same as a conventional implicature)
(40) Some people left the room. (+> Not all people left the room)
(41) I found a relevant article in an office today. (+> not in my office)

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 2.6 Scalar implicatures b) Maxim of relevance:
(56) I went to Berlin last week. The hotel was good.
● Revisions of Grice’s work by Larry Horn (cf. Huang ch. 2 and Kearns ch. 11)
(47) THE Q PRINCIPLE: Say as much as you can (without violating QUALITY and R PRINCIPLE) (+> the hotel referred to was the one that I stayed at on that trip and in Berlin.)
THE R PRINCIPLE: Say no more than you must (without violating QUALITY and Q PRINCIPLE)
(57) It’s an old vase and on the base of the vessel are four Chinese characters.
(+> vessel=vase.)
2.6.1 Consequences of the Q PRINCIPLE c) World knowledge:
● The hearer assumes that speaker has made the strongest statement possible. This usually (58) He doesn’t drink. (+> He doesn’t drink alcohol.)
generates an implicature ‘and no more’. This is relevant to Q-scales like those exemplified below.
(Here <x,y> indicates that x is semantically stronger than, and therefore entails, y.) Z. Find R implicatures for (the underlined parts of) the following.
(48) a. <three, two, one> 1. Bush is coming to Europe.
b. They have two children. [+> not three] 2. the nude bathing opponents
(49) a. <all, most, many, some> 3. the government drug policy
b. Many of the people here have written a text message in the last 24 hours. 4. he’s sitting at the desk
(50) a. <hot, warm>
b. The weather was warm that day. B. If two expressions x and y can express the same thing, and y is longer than x, then the use of
(51) a. <the, a> y will create an implicature that x does not hold, often suggesting a non-stereotypical situation.
b. Everybody has their own opinion about a US President. (59) a. The cd is {inside/in} the computer. [inside +> not in cd drive]
b. The chair is {underneath/under} the table.
W. Why does none not belong in the Q-scale in (49)a)? c. The saucepan is {on top of/on} the stove.
X. Suggest other members of Q-scales associated with the underlined expressions below. (60) a. Mervyn ceased to be in the bank and came to be in the supermarket.
1. It is possible that Jane will win. b. Mervyn went from the bank to the supermarket.
2. I believe he will arrive soon. (61) a. The soldier caused the prisoner to die.
3. How did the exam go? - I passed. b. The soldier killed the prisoner.
4. I tried to clean the silver.
5. The photographs are similar.
6. [at 9 a.m., to person wanting doctor’s appointment ASAP]: You can see the doctor at midday.
7. [teacher to school student]: The essay is due next Tuesday.
8. She limited herself to three coffees per day.
Y. How is the Q principle relevant to the interpretation of or as it relates to that of and in the
following examples.
1. He plays guitar or sings.
2. He plays guitar and sings.
3. Speaker A: He plays guitar or sings. Speaker B: You’re right: he does both.

● Qualifications about Q scales: on a Q scale, a stronger expression won’t block a weaker

expression if (i) the expressions aren’t from the same register/variety of the language and (ii) if the
stronger expression is longer.
(52) a. <iff, if>
b. He will go to the party if Jane goes.
(53) a. <be a native speaker of (a language), speak (a language)>
b. She speaks Russian.

2.6.2 Consequences of the R PRINCIPLE

A. In apparent violation of the Q Principle, speakers often choose expressions which are less
specific than what they want to say because they realise that a more specific statement would be
redundant. Reasons/examples for this (some from Huang, p.47ff):
a) An implicature leads the hearer to assume that the speaker is referring to a stereotypical
situation:
(54) I was in the supermarket. I pushed the trolley to the checkout.
(+> Trolley had stuff in it, and I was going to pay for it.)
(55) I moved the car out of the garage.
(+> By driving it, not pushing it.)

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3 Presupposition DD. What presupposition in the quotation below might lay Bush open to the accusation of
deliberate deception, given the fact that the ‘evidence’ for Bush’s claim consisted solely of
● Presupposition (preliminary definition): A proposition associated with a sentence which is
letters between officials in Iraq and Niger which were later acknowledged to be forgeries?
assumed to be true even if the sentence is negated. (>> indicates a presupposition)
“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant
(62) a. They realised that that Ann was right. >> Ann was right.
quantities of uranium from Africa.” [G.W. Buch, State of the Union address 2003]2
b. They did not realise that Ann was right. >> Ann was right.
EE. Answers to yes/no questions like the example below are considered a test for
(63) a. The present king of France is bald. >> There is a king of France now.
presuppositions. Why?
b. The present king of France is not bald. >> There is a king of France now.
Did you manage to put poison in anyone’s drink?
(64) a. I forgot to shut the window. >> I should have shut it.
b. I did not forget to shut the window. >> I should have shut it.
The notion ‘presupposition’ compared to other notions
● Presuppositions are triggered by particular words (e.g. those underlined above). ● Entailment: A proposition which inevitably follows from the meaning of another proposition:
(65) They raised the prices. → The prices rose.
(66) Martha got a degree in medicine. → Martha got a degree.
AA. Factive verbs like realise in (62) above presuppose that their complement clauses are true,
while non-factive verbs like think do not. Replace realise in (62) above with the expressions
● Presuppositions compared to entailments: Entailments, unlike presuppositions, are affected by
below and decide whether they are factive or not.
negation. This can be illustrated by comparing the following example with its negated variant.
regret, decide, remember, believe, notice, acknowledge,
(67) I put the car in the garage.
claim, be certain, be disappointed
→ The car ended up in the garage.
>> The car was not in the garage at the relevant time.
BB. What presuppositions are triggered by the underlined words in the sentences below? If the
answer is not obvious, consider the (non-)negated form of the sentence.
● Presuppositions compared to implicatures: Implicatures can be affected by negation and are non-
1. Fred stopped buying newspapers.
detachable (unlike presuppositions, which are intimately associated with particular lexical items).
2. Jane managed to get sick.
3. Clive rang before / after Louise left the office.
4. If cows could sing, the areas around this town would be culturally interesting.
5. Who were you speaking to a minute ago?
Cancellation of presuppositions
6. It isn’t Al Quaida that is trying to ruin my life.
● Presuppositions can (like implicatures) be cancelled if they contradict world knowledge, semantic
7. What Grandma blew up was not my car.
entailments present in the context, or if they are explicitly denied or called into question.
8. Frankie didn’t leave the room.
(68) He didn’t stop buying newspapers because he’s never bought one in his whole life.
9. She didn’t buy THAT book. [capitals indicate stress]
(69) He doesn’t regret deceiving his wife because he never deceived her.
10. Gertrude called Egbert a conservative before HE insulted HER.
(70) Now that John’s love affairs are being discussed on TV, I bet John regrets being married – at
least if he IS married.
(71) If he doesn’t own a car, the petrol prices won’t make him regret buying one.
CC. Identify (the triggers for) the unwanted presuppositions in the examples below. Reformulate
them to eliminate the presuppositions.
1. [spokesman for a company:] The papers spread rumours about the fact that our company
exploits developing countries, but we say that they should not do so. FF. What is the difference in the presuppositions associated with before in the examples below?
Speculate on what is responsible for the distinction.
2. CUTHBERT : That you didn’t ring me shows that you think I am a boring loser. 1. She went to Africa before she finished her first novel.
CUTHBERT ’S ADMIRER: That I didn’t ring was not because you are a boring loser.
2. She died before she finished her first novel.
3. She died before she reached the hospital.
3. [letter to tax office:] In your letter of the 2nd of May, my attempt to claim fraudulent tax 4. We hope these irresponsible lunatics will be voted out of office before they start World War III.
deductions was the illegal action which you accused me of.

4. [instructions for computer software:] When you experience difficulties with this product,
please visit our website.

5. [Non-native speaker at customs at airport:] Why do you expect to find the heroin in my
2
suitcase? Example from Wechsler, S. 2004. The Pragmatics of Political Deception. Handout. Available
under http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~wechsler/PoliticalDeceptionHandout.pdf
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