PRAGMATICS – MOCK FINAL TEST 2017

1. State the illocutionary point of each of the utterances below (2X5=10p)

EX: Lady at ticket office in railway station: ‘Could I get a return ticket to Durham, please’
Illocutionary point: requesting / ordering
1. Shop assistant to customer: ‘Can I be of any use, madam?’
2. Doctor to patient: ‘You realize your cholesterol level is alarming, Mr. Brown’
3. One friend to another: ‘I wasn’t born yesterday, you know’
4. Green protestant during march: ‘Are we entitled to destroy our planet we live on?’
5. Guest to host: ‘Can you tell me where the bathroom is?’

2. Suggest a perlocution for the utterances in 1)(2X5=10p)

EX: selling the lady a ticket to Durham: ‘Here you are, ma’am. It’s 21.75’
OR refusing to sell the lady a ticket to Durham:’ Sorry, we closed 10 minutes ago’.

3. Identify the act carried out by the utterances below and specify which class in Searle’s classification they may
belong to: (4X5=20p)
EX:’I’m sorry I stepped on your foot’
SA: APOLOGY
SEARLEAN CLASS: EXPRESSIVE
a. Midwife to woman about to deliver a baby: ’You need to push with all your strength’
b. Man to fiancée:’ I’ll take you to a picnic on Labour Day’
c. Student to professor: ‘I know I’m late, I just lost track of time.’
d. One friend to another, who has just announced her engagement:’ I couldn’t be happier for you’
e. Judge in court: ‘Please instruct your witness to keep quiet, counselor!’

4. Give the direct and indirect illocutions of the following utterances. (4X5=20p)
EX: ‘Can you lift this table?’
DSA: questioning the Hs ability to lift the table
ISA: asking/requesting/ordering/commanding the H to help the S lift the table
a. ‘When are you going to look for a steady job?’
b. ‘I wouldn’t worry, he’s harmless.’
c. ‘There’s a dentist’s practice round the corner’
d. ‘You’re such a busybody!’
e. ‘It’s all water under the bridge!’

5. Give an implicature of each interlocutor’s utterance in each of the following situations, then identify the
maxim(s) that has/have been flouted (if any) (4X5=20p)
EX: John: Well, I’ll go out for a nice walk.
IMPLICATURE: NONE or John hints at his unwillingness to help Peter
NO MAXIM FLOUTED
Peter: You promised to help me move the furniture. Any memory losses lately?
IMPLICATURE: ‘You are breaking your promise’ MAXIM FLOUTED: MANNER Peter does not simply
remind John of his promise), QUANTITY (John not only remind Peter of a past promise but also implies John
may have undergone amnesia), possibly RELATION (mentioning John’s loss of memory is seemingly unrelated
to John’s announcement of going for a walk)
1) Sarah: We’re having the prom next week.
Helen: You can always pretend having the flu.
2) Alison: Meg, shall we go shopping tonight?
Meg: There’s no room in my closet, really!
3) Ann: These family reunions are a bore!
Beverly: Tell me about it!
4) Interviewer to interviewee: We won’t be keeping you any longer
Interviewee: I have all the time in the world!
5) Patsy: Did you know Belinda and John are an item now?
Betsy: Yesterday’s news!

6. For each of the following fill in an appropriate utterance for B which conveys the indicated implicature. There
may be several appropriate possibilities 4(2X5=20p)
a. A: ‘Let’s see if she is the professor we are looking for.’
B:
...................................................................................................................
Implicature: The professor we are looking for is in her late seventies.
b. A: ‘Why don’t you try my apple-pie?’
B:
...................................................................................................................
Implicature: Apple-pies are rich in calories
c. A:’ Have you met anyone interesting?’
B: ...................................................................................................................
Implicature: There is little likelihood for me to meet someone interesting because most people getting into this
college are dull.
d.A:‘Shall we dial 911?’
B: ...................................................................................................................
Implicature: B isn’t sure whether matters can’t be solved without extra help.
e. A:’ Do you take after your father?
B: ...................................................................................................................
Implicature: B and B’s father are extremely different from each other.