Block 1: The Goals of a Pragmatic Theory

Unit 1: Issues in Pragmatics

Contents
1. Semantics vs. Pragmatics: word meaning vs. speaker meaning.
2. Distinction between sentence, utterance, and proposition.
3. Pragmatic knowledge: how to use language appropriately.
4. Communication and inference: what is said vs. what is implicated.
5. Underdeterminacy: linguistic meaning + pragmatic meaning
6. Inferences: entailment, presupposition & implicature

1. What is pragmatics?
Semantics and Pragmatics involve the study of meaning.
● Semantics: what a sentence or a word means (sentence meaning, word
meaning, linguistic meaning, or literal meaning).
● Pragmatics: what a speaker means by using a piece of language (Speaker
meaning). Includes verbal and non-verbal elements and varies depending on
the context, the relationship between people, prior experience, and knowledge.

A. Gap between semantics and pragmatics

There is often a GAP between what speakers say and what they mean, i.e.,
between the linguistic meaning and the speaker's meaning.
● The speaker’s words (semantics) only provide a clue to what the
speaker means (pragmatics).
● To fill the GAP, hearers must build the speaking meaning from this
clue/the context.
Example:
If I am having a hard day, I may tell you:
“My day was a nightmare”
● The semantic meaning of “nightmare” is a bad dream
experienced by someone asleep.
● Pragmatic meaning (meaning intended in the context of my
utterance): unpleasant experience.
Speakers usually mean much more than what they say. Utterances may carry
different meanings depending on:
a. When it is said.
b. Who the speaker is.
c. Who the hearer is.
d. Where it takes place.
B. Utterance, sentence & proposition
● Utterance: physical and ephemeral event. The USE of a piece of
language by a specific speaker on a specific occasion at a specific time:
A cappuccino, please!, Liverpool won the last Champion League.
● Sentence: abstract linguistic entity. A string of words following the
grammatical rules of a language: I would like a cup of coffee.
*Liverpool league the Champions won.
○ The same sentence may be expressed by different sentences:
■ Groucho Marx: One morning I shot an elephant in my
pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know.
● Proposition: the constant meaning of a sentence that can be true or
false, despite changes in the voice or illocutionary force.
○ The same proposition may be expressed in different sentences:
■ Proposition Liszt adored Chopin: Liszt adored Chopin/
Chopin was adored by Liszt/ Did Liszt adore Chopin?

C. Pragmatic knowledge
Our knowledge of pragmatics is rule-governed.
● Speakers within a language community share pragmatic principles
about language production and interpretation context.
● The knowledge about how to use language appropriately.
● Our pragmatic competence is generally implicit.
Pragmatics makes explicit the implicit knowledge guiding us in selecting
interpretations.
● A meaning may vary from context to context.
● The same utterance may mean different things in different contexts to
different people.
Pragmatics is the study of the implicit meaning. It is the study of how more
gets communicated than is said.
● (Physical, social, and/ or psychological) Closeness/distance between
speakers and hearers determines the choice of what is said and left
implicit.

D. Communication and pragmatic inference

Communication involves 2-information processing devices (a speaker and a
hearer). In oral communication:
● A speaker, who modifies the hearer’s environment.
● A hearer, who entertains thoughts similar to the speaker’s.
Human communication involves:
● Coding: pairing words with acoustic signals for people to
communicate.
● Inferring: concluding some evidence or premises.
Comprehension involves:
 ● Decoding: recovering a message associated with a signal by a code
● Inferring: to recover
○ Speaker’s explicit proposition (explicature).
○ Speaker’s implicit proposition (implicature)
○ Speaker’s attitude to the explicature.
○ Speaker’s attitude to the implicature.
Example:
“Do you know what time it is?”
a. Explicitly: asking whether the hearer knows the time.
b. Implicitly: it’s time to go OR you’re late
The speaker’s attitude is important
A hearer has to ask him-/herself 3 questions when interpreting an utterance:
● What was said?
● What was implicated?
● What was the speaker’s attitude to what was said and implicated?

Example:
Pip: Jane told Jim about the surprise birthday party we were preparing for
him, so it won’t be a surprise anymore.
Tom: Oh, she’s such a clever girl.
● Tom’s explicature: Jane is a clever girl.
● Tom’s implicature: Jane is silly.
● Tom’s attitude to explicature: Rejection of explicature.
● Tom’s attitude to implicature: Support or endorsement.

E. Underdeterminacy
Three levels of utterance meaning:
1.1 Linguistic meaning  DECODING
2.1 What the speaker says (proposition expressed) INFERRING
3.1 What speaker means (implicature)  INFERRING
There are three sources of linguistic underdeterminacy:
1. Referential indeterminacy (requires contextually determining
indexical references)
a. You and you, but not you, stand up!
b. Today it is windy time reference of today has to be fixed
2. Semantic ambiguity: context needed to select the speaker's meaning.
a. Lexical ambiguity
b. Syntactic ambiguity
c. Visual ambiguity
3. Semantic incompleteness: linguistic meaning has to be pragmatically
completed
 a. It’s the same [as]
b. This fruit is green Green inside or outside?

Sub-sentential sentences:
Ann: Where is the marmalade?
John: On the top shelf! Linguistic meaning (prepositional phrase)
The marmalade is on the top shelf  what is said (explicit proposition said
by a speaker).
Implicatures:
● Look for the marmalade on the top shelf.
● I have moved it to its proper place.
● I am not trying to hide it from you, etc.

Sub-sentential utterances: utterances whose linguistic meaning does not

determine a full proposition.
1. Paracetamol is better [than?]
2. She’s leaving [from where? When?]
3. He is too young [for?]
Hence, missing constituents have to be supplied pragmatically.
4. He went to the bank [financial institution or sloping land?]
5. I have temperature [higher than normal temperature]

Linguistic meaning has to be contextually disambiguated or enriched.

F. Inference
When we come across texts or conversations, we often make some inferences.
E.g., if we hear…
John was assassinated INFERENCE John was a politically or socially
important person, John died, etc.
Linguistic expressions enable us to derive other propositions or information.
● Inference: the process of connecting previous knowledge to new
information to create further meaning beyond what is said. The role of
inference in communication is to allow hearers to interpret speakers’
meanings.
There are three types of inferences:
● Entailment: a semantic relation between 2 sentences such as that, if
the 1st is true, the 2nd must also be true. It is necessary implication.
Non-defeasible: an entailment can’t disappear in any context.
■ The guerrillas killed the ambassador (T) The
ambassador died (T)
 ● Presupposition: inferences whose truth a speaker assumes to be
inferable or known to the hearer; background assumptions necessary to
understand the meaning of an utterance.
■ Jaimie’s cousin brought cookies for her soccer team.
■ Jaimie has a cousin.
■ Jaimie’s cousin plays soccer.
■ Jaimie’s cousin is a human being.
○ Characteristics:
■ Presupposition survives when the utterance is negated
(not p), questioned or embedded in a context.
● Implicature: what an utterance means or suggests ( extra meaning
attached to the utterance in interactions); what a speaker implicates
(versus what s/he says.)
○ Ann: Will Sally come to the meeting this afternoon?
○ Bob: Her car broke down.
■ Implicature: Sally won’t be at the meeting this
afternoon.
○ Characteristics:
■ Cancellability/ defeasibility: implicatures can be
cancelled:
● There are 80 students in class… if not more
■ Non-detachability: they depend on what the speaker
says:
● Ann: How well did Jack do in the match?
● Phil: He didn’t manage to score Jack didn’t do
very well (implicature)
■ Indeterminacy:
● Ann is a machine she is efficient, emotionless,
workaholic…
■ Non-conventionality: it is not part of the speaker says.
■ Reinforceability: it can be reinforced by being made explicit.

G. Summary: Semantic-pragmatic distinction

Linguistic Meaning Speaker meaning

Also called sentence or word Also called utterance meaning
meaning
Context-independent Context-dependent
A semantic notion Depends on speaker’s intentions
A pragmatic notion
Unit 1. Questions on Issues in Pragmatics (1)
 3. Are the following utterances, sentences or none of them?
a.‘Help!’ → Yes
b.‘Pxgotmgt’ → No
c.Linda ordered a cup of coffee. → Yes
d.‘Coffee, please’, Linda said → No
e.Utterances may consist of a single word, a single phrase or a single
sentence. → Yes
6. What two different propositions are conveyed by this sentence?
If you’re looking for a good job, we’re offering a thousand a week.
It can mean that they offer 1000 jobs per week or it can mean that they
pay 1000 pounds per week
7. Provide an example of a sentence that can express two different
propositions.
I saw an elephant with a telescope. EXAM QUESTION
a. I saw the elephant using a telescope.
b. The elephant was using the telescope.
8. Can you think of a situation or an example in which speakers show little
pragmatic competence, such as the ones on the Campus Virtual Videos?

Unit 2: The Nature and the Role of the Context

1. The Context of Interpretation

All the premises used in interpreting an utterance.
A psychological construct, a subset of the hearer’s knowledge about the world.
Contexts are selected during the interpretation process.
The context contains information about:
A. The immediate physical environment: what is physically
present around speakers/hearers when they communicate:
 Objects, places, what is going on around, gestures, etc.
Example: I want this; Be here at 20:00 tonight
(place/reference time).
B. Immediately preceding utterances: what has been said
before in the conversation. The “history” of things said so
far. Example:
"`It's--it's a very fine day!' said a timid voice at her
side. She was walking by the White Rabbit […].
`Very,' said Alice: --where's the Duchess?'
`Hush! Hush!' said the Rabbit in a low, hurried tone.
He […]put his mouth close to her ear, and whispered
`She's under sentence of execution.
`What for?' said Alice.
`Did you say "What a pity!"?' the Rabbit asked.
`No, I didn't,' said Alice: `I don't think it's at all a pity.
I said "What for?"'
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.
C. Background info: knowledge, expectations, briefs,
memories, mental states and cultural assumptions of the
speaker/hearer

The same linguistic Community or Cultural group:

● Has the same language.
● Has the same inferential ability.
● Shares some experiences, teachings, and views.

BUT:
Different assumptions about the world
BECAUSE:
Individuals are highly idiosyncratic.

2. The Context of interpretation

Two people seeing the same event may have different representations.

DISAGREEING

on their interpretation in their memory of basic

physical facts (Neisser, 1982)
CHANGE BLINDNESS
A pragmatic theory describes how the hearer finds a context to understand an
utterance adequately.
● Speaker: intends an utterance to be interpreted in a way.
● Hearer: supplies the context of interpretation.
A misunderstanding is a mismatch between the speaker’s and the hearer’s
context.
Example:
Coffee would keep me awake.
● Speaker’s context: speaker wants to stay awake and accepts an offer of
coffee.
● Hearer’s context: hearer assumes the speaker wants to sleep (refusal).

Why do misunderstandings happen?

The mechanisms of verbal communication make successful communication
probable, but do not guarantee it.
2.1. Mutual manifestness and cognitive environments
People have different physical environments, different info and so make
different inferences, but sharing information is necessary to be able to
communicate.
Two people with the same physical environment will still have different
cognitive environments: they will perceive or infer different things.
Cognitive environment: physical environment + cognitive abilities
(perceptual & inferential).
An assumption is manifest to a person in a context when that person is
capable of representing it mentally and accepting it as true or probably
true, even if it is mistaken.

Example:

Optical illusions can be indistinguishable from true sight.

Some phenomena are particularly salient (a doorbell ringing, background

buzz or ticking clock).

When a phenomenon is noticed, some assumptions are more accessible

than others:

“The fire alarm has gone off”

+Strongly manifest: The alarm is just beeping

Strongly manifest: someone is smoking

-Strongly manifest: there is a fire alarm drill

Weakly manifest: the alarm is broken

+Weakly manifest: there is fire

When some facts are manifest to two different people, their cognitive
environments intersect.

Since physical environments are never completely identical, cognitive

abilities are affected by previous info, which differs from person to person,
people never share their total cognitive environments but part of them.

So any shared cognitive environment is called a

 MUTUAL COGNITIVE
ENVIRONMENT.

Communication involves some coordination between speaker and hearer

on the choice of a code and a context.

Asymmetrical process: Speakers make assumptions about what

contextual information is accessible to hearers → Hearers use whatever
information is most accessible.

Environments don’t tell us what people know, but the contextual

information they may have accessible.

To communicate successfully, speakers need some knowledge of hearers’

cognitive environment. Communication is a less-than-perfect process →
Failures in communication are to be expected.

By communicating, we make (verbal and non-verbal) information mutually

manifest to us (speakers and hearers).

SUMMARY

- Cognitive environment  Facts manifest to an individual.

- Shared cognitive environment  Facts manifest to several individuals.
- Mutual cognitive environment  Shared cognitive environment

Allows interaction in relation to a

common perception of
contextual events
2.2. Ostention

Function of communication: Speakers try to alter hearers’ cognitive

environment by showing an intention to make something manifest
(ostension) by attracting hearers’ attention to some particular
phenomenon.

Example:

Two friends, Mary and Peter, are sitting on a bench in the patio next to
cafeteria.

Peter leans back intentionally, modifying Mary’s physical

environment. As a result, Mary can see three people:

1. Manolo from the cafeteria, whom she had

notices before when she sat on the bench (old
info).
2. An unknown student (irrelevant info).
3. John, a classmate, who is going towards them
(new and relevant info) and who is annoying
(previous info).

Facts made manifest to Mary by Peter’s behavior:

★ Peter has lent back intentionally (ostensive behavior)

★ His behavior has made manifest to Mary that he intends to
make mutually manifest John’s arrival.
★ By calling her attention, she will infer that some of the info
made mutually manifest by his behavior is important, e.g.
leaving the patio to avoid John.

2.3. The nature of the context

Context is used to process new information from the context connected

with the individual’s previous information to derive new information
(contextual effects) not inferable without the combination of previous
and new information.
 For any utterance there’s a huge range of possible contexts. The choice
of contexts limited by the individual’s encyclopedic information
(chunks of information not equally accessible at a time) + individual’s
mental activity.

2.4. Context extension

The initial or immediately given context (i.e., the most recently

processed information or the opening utterance in a conversation) can
be extended by adding further information from 3 different sources:

★ Encyclopedic information of the concepts appearing in the

context
★ Information mentioned earlier in the discourse
★ Information about the immediate observable or physical
environment.

3. Adding the encyclopedic entries of the concepts in the context:

1) I come from Cologne.

Someone processing (1) may access the information in (A)-(B):

(a) Cologne is a German city with a catedral.

(b) Some cathedrals in Germany belong to the Catholic Church.

May give access to:

● Encyclopedic entry for Cologne

● Encyclopedic entry for ‘catedral’
● Encyclopedic entry for ‘Catholic Church’

The initial context is extended by adding chunks of information from the

encyclopedic entries accessible through a concept.

2) (a) John: I’m tired

(b) Ann: The dessert is ready. I’ll make the shepherd's pie.

Ann’s answer, 2(b), can only be understood by adding the encyclopedic entry
to the concept of shepherd’s pie:

3) A shepherd’s pie is a main course made with lamb covered with

mashed potato.

With (3), contextual implication (4) can be derived:

4) Ann will make the meal.

4. Adding assumptions occurring earlier in the conversation:

5) (a) Ann: What I’d like to eat tonight is a shepherd’s pie. I’m
ravenous. How was your day?
 (b) John: Not so good. Too many patients. I’m tired.

(c) Ann: I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll make it myself.

To understand 5 (c), I’ll make it myself, John needs the information in 5 (a) that Ann
would like to eat a shepherd’s pie, highly accessible, to extend the context.

5. Adding information from the immediate physical environment:

6) John: I’ll cook this (holding a piece of pork)
7) These daffodils are really early.

In (6)-(7), the hearer extends the context via perception of the environment, by
adding to the context some description of the piece of meat John is holding or of the
early daffodils.

We do not pay attention to everything in our physical environment. The hearer may
have not been aware of the daffodils until the speaker mentioned them.

Utterance interpretations are determined by the meaning of the sentence uttered and a
set of available contextual assumptions.

The hearer’s task is to choose from the vast array of possible interpretations the one
intended by the speaker.

2.5. Nonverbal communication

Definition

Transfer of information through the use of body language and

environmental factors (Eunson 2015).

What does nonverbal communication do for us that words cannot

do?

● Complement verbal communication enhancing the overall

message.
● Regulate conversation by helping to mark speech turns.
● Express thoughts, intentions, feelings or emotions and attitudes.
● Convey an image of yourself in others’ mind.
● Contextualize interactions by creating a particular social
setting.

Verbal and nonverbal communication operate together in

communication

● Verbal communication: conveys information through written

texts or speaking.
● Nonverbal communication: is dependent on seeing and
analyzing physical movements.

Truly effective communication occurs when verbal and nonverbal

communication are in harmony.
 When they are not congruent, we need to pay attention to the
imbalance between both channels of communication.

When verbal and nonverbal communication cues contradict each other,

nonverbal cues are more likely to be believed.

Types

● Haptics or touch
● Paralanguage
● Proxemics
● Eye gaze
● Facial expressions KINESICS
● Gestures
● Body posture

2.5.1. Eye gaze

➔ Communicative functions:
◆ Regulate conversation
◆ Monitor interaction
◆ Avoid conversation breakdowns or restore the
breakdowns
◆ Establish interpersonal relations

1. Facilitate turn-taking in face-to-face conversation

○ Show others we are ready to speak by:
■ Averting gaze at the start when planning and
concentration are required.
■ Gazing towards the listener when initiating a
sequence.
■ Giving short glances toward the listener during
speech.
○ Cue others to speak by directing the gaze at the next
speaker in floor-switching.
2. Monitor interaction: interpret each other’s availability,
reactions and emotions:
○ Listener’s focus of attention and interest (backchannel)
○ Help speaker to tell a story with more enthusiasm.
3. Avoid or restore breakdowns:
○ During a conversation breakdown, speakers restart their
utterance to request the listener for their gaze.
○ When listeners gaze at the speaker, there are less
restarts.
○ Repairs are usually initiated with mutual gaze between
speaker and listener.
4. Establish interpersonal relations: Social norms dictate how
much eye contact is appropriate:
○ Direct eye gaze
■ honesty or flirtation
 ■ Rudeness or intimidation
○ Averted gaze
■ Dishonesty or deceit
■ Respect or concentration
■ No talking to strangers
2.5.2. Facial expressions

Facial expressions occur during conversation and reveal a

reaction to what has been said:

● Eyebrows expressions
● Smiles
● Eye movement
● Microexpressions

2.5.2.1. The eyebrow expression

● Lowered (center-downturned brows):
○ Indicate fear from threats, grief,
insecurity or weakness (submissive facial
expression).
○ Indicate deception, mistrust or anger.
● Middle-lowered (furrowed eyebrows):
○ Indicate annoyance, frustration or intense
concentration
● Middle-raised (center-upturned brows):
○ Relief
○ Anxiety
● Raised
○ It shows surprise, esp. when widening
the eyes.
○ When only one eyebrow is raised, it
shows cynicism and skepticism.
● The eyebrow flash
○ Eyebrows rise for a brief moment and
drop again to draw attention to the face
○ Unconscious signal acknowledging
another person’s presence
2.5.2.2. Smiles

Most smiles are made for others as a reflection of an

internal emotional state.

Social smiles are perceived different from genuine

smiles:
2.5.2.3. Eye movement

Our eyes reveal thoughts and feelings:

● Sideways glance: suspicion + hostility

● Steady eye contact: active listener
● No eye contact: disinterest
● Blank stare: boredom
● Up to the left: recalling an image.
● To the left: recalling a sound.
● Down to the left: talking to one self.
● Up to the right: constructing visual images.
● To the right: constructing sound images.
● Down to the right: recalling feelings and
sensations.
2.5.2.4. Facial expressions
Some facial expressions are universally recognized,
though the triggers for these expressions are culturally
diverse (Ekman 1970).
2.5.3. Body posture
 The arms:
● Crossed arms indicate a person is feeling bored,
anxious, or angry.
● The Hands-on-Hips posture indicates readiness for
action or a sign of impatience or authority. Lets the
person take up more space and has the threat value of
the pointed elbows, preventing other from approaching.
○ Used by models to make clothing more
appealing (for the modern, forward thinking
woman).
○ Used by women and men to draw attention to
themselves.
 The legs:
● Crossed legs can indicate that a person is feeling closed
off or in need of privacy.
● The posture:

● The Legs-Spread: male gesture of authority that may

intimidate women, esp.in a business context.
 ● The catapult signals dominance and power. It is
predominantly a male gesture.
● The Starter’s position shows a desire to conclude a
meeting or start a new task by leaning forward with
both hands on knees or hands on the chair.
 Aggression: rigid body, with shoulders raised, both signals of
readiness for physical combat.
 Defeat or depression: a slumped posture, representing
humility and retreat to the helplessness.
2.5.4. Proxemics
Proxemics is the study of personal space, or the way we cross spaces
between ourselves and others.
We exist within an invisible air bubble of personal space, where we
feel secure. We tend to feel anxious if others invade this space.
The four different spaces identified are:
 The public: used with people we know only slightly or not at
all. E.g. people in public places.
 The social: used with people we know moderate well, e.g.
work colleagues or classmates.
 The personal: used with people we know quite well, e.g.
friends and close classmates or colleagues.
 The intimate: used only with people we like and know very
well, e.g. family and lovers.
Personal space varies between cultures, and even between sexes.
Research has shown that:
 Many males demand more personal space than many females.
 Intercultural conflict if space and touch are not understood.
Example:
- British person: + space needs – touch norms
- Saudi Arabian person: - space needs + touch norms
RESULT: Saudi may perceive the British as cold.
2.5.5. Haptics
Personal space is related to haptics (the touching behaviour). It links
gesture, posture, eye movement-gaze and personal space.
 People with lower space needs use touch as a way of
communication.
 People with higher space needs touches less.
Haptics varies considerably from culture to culture and within cultures,
depending on the environment, e.g. greetings:
 In Japan, people bow at each other.
 In the USA, people shake hands or hug (if a friend).
 In Spain or France, people kiss on both cheeks.
5 categories of touch:
 5. Professional-Functional: managers often assert their
power by invading the personal space of subordinates
and touching them, but need to be cautious as it can be
misunderstood.
Example:
Hand on the shoulder
- Supportive gesture
- Sexual advance
6. Social/ Polite: to communicate a limited form of
personal involvement. It is highly ritualized.
Example: From handshakes to gain trust and introduce
ourselves to handshaking.
7. Friendship/warmth: To convey closeness. This touch
lasts longer than the previous ones during greeting.
Example: a hug
8. Love/intimacy: gestures that signal a close association
between individuals.
Example: holding hands or putting an arm around your
partner.
9. Sexual/arousal: the most intense and communicative
form of touch
Example: hugging, kissing.
2.5.6. Paralanguage
The vocalized but nonverbal parts of a message which accompany
verbal behavior. It can vary substantially the meaning of the words we
say.
Paralanguage is not what you say but how you say it.
Paralanguage includes 3 categories:
- Vocal qualifiers: how verbal statement is presented.
- Vocal characterizes sound with a specific meaning.
- Fillers: sounds that regulate the flow of verbal conversation.
1. Vocal qualifiers:
a) Volume (how loudly or softly you speak) can indicate boldness,
shyness, confidentiality or other states of mind.

Example: a whisper
- Covert message
- Flirting
b) Pitch (highness or lowness of our voice) regulates the
conversational flow and communicates intensity.
a. We pitch our voices to show a strong feeling (excitement
or anger) or when we lie.
b. We pitch our voice lower as a warning. Lower pitches
are associated with credibility and authority.
 c) Tone adds meaning to the speaker’s message (truthfulness,
sarcasm, enthusiasm, empathy, support, etc.)
a. It can contradict verbal cues: I’m fine said in a quick,
short tone.
d) Emphasis allows us to emphasize parts of a message to
determine speaker’s meaning.
Example:
 I never said she stole the money. = someone else accused
her.
 I never said she stole the money. = I never said that
 I never said she stole the money. = I never accused her of
stealing money.
 I never said she stole the money. = I never said it was her
but someone else.
 I never said she stole the money. = The money was not
stolen but missing.
e) Articulation: exaggerated articulation can indicate confidence,
overconfidence, poshness, formality, pretentiousness.
Poor articulation or lack of articulation can indicate shyness, lack
of confidence or sloppiness.
f) Speaking rate/speed leads others to form impressions about
credibility and intelligence.
a. A fast speaker may be difficult to follow as the fast
delivery can distract from the message. Comprehension
levels in speeches at 201wpm (words per minute) are at
about 95.
b. A speaker talking a bit faster than normal (159-170
wpm) and articulating clearly is considered more
credible and intelligent.
c. A speaking rate of 100wpm may bore your audience.
2. Vocal characterizers:
a) Laughing
b) Sighing
c) Crying
d) Belching
e) Inhaling
f) Groaning
g) Whining
h) Yelling
i) Whispering
3. Vocal segregates or fillers: sounds that fill gaps in our speech as we
think what to say next: uh, like, hmm, well, now, ok, so, basically,
etc.
  To stall for time:
o Wife: you forgot our anniversary!
o Husband: um…uh.
 To add emphasis:
o That’s literally the worst movie I’ve seen
 To make a statement less harsh:
o That shirt makes you… um…look a bit fat.
 To indicate an awkward situation:
o Hey, uh…your fly is down
 To show that one is thinking:
o 31+23 is uh… 54
 To substitute: verbal cue
o Saying uh huh instead of I understand what you’re
saying.

GESTURE IN PRAGMATICS PRESENTATION

What Constitutes Language in Face-to-Face Talk?

Human communication, under which language use is included, is neither solely
audible nor solely visible, but it is interactively multimodal by nature.

What and How We Talk

According to Mehrabian’s (1981) 7%-38%-55% Rule, is each exchange intended for
emotional information:
 55% is communicated via body language.
 38% is via how we vocally say it (e.g. intonation, tone of voice, etc.)
 7% comes from the words themselves.

Gestures in Interaction
(Domestic evening scene: husband and wife watching television.)
H: [points and taps his ear to indicate that he can hear the phone]
W: [points to the cat asleep on her lap]
H: [shrugs and gets up]
Gesture, like speech, performs action.
H: [=requests wife to perform action]
W: [=states reason why she cannot comply with request]
H: [=undertakes to perform action]

1. What are the Relevant Terms?

a. Nonverbal communication (NVC)
b. Paralanguage
 c. Body language
d. Multimodal communication
e. (Conversational) Gesture vs. Posture
f. Conversational Facial Gesture

A. Nonverbal Communication (NVC)

The term nonverbal only excludes communication through words.
NVC refers to communication through touch or smell, through various kinds of
artefacts, e.g., masks and clothes. It can sometimes include vocal features, e.g.,
intonation, stress, speech rate, accent and loudness.
In addition, NVC covers different forms of body movement such as facial
expression (gaze included), posture, gesture, and interpersonal distance.
B. Paralanguage
It refers to nonverbal communicating activities which accompany verbal
behavior in conversation.
It includes only those vocal aspects of language use that are not part of language,
e.g., intonation, stress, affective tone of voice, or rate of speech. These are
referred inclusively to as vocalizations.
C. Body Language
Body language is considered one aspect of paralanguage and thus NVC.
The most widely recognized oof nonverbal codes related to the body is kinesics
(body language). Body language encompasses messages based on body motion,
e.g., facial expressions, eye behaviors, posture, gestures, and other physical
movements.
D. Multimodal Communication (MC)
The notion of multimodality relates to the idea that we can communicate in more
than one mode.
A key aim of work on MC in general is to develop an integrated account, i.e.,
one which takes account of all the different kinds of modes and semiotic
resources which are involved in communication and how they interact with each
other in communicative acts.
E. Gesture vs Posture
Gesture is defined as a visible body action which communicates a message.
Gesture can occur both in conjunction with and in the absence of speech. Gesture
is typically contrasted with posture, which refers to static bodily positions.
1.1. Gesture
The word gesture covers a multiplicity of communicative movements, primarily but
not always of the hands and arms.
While any visible, effortful, bodily movement can be studied as a gesture, in this
lecture I will focus on the movement of the hands (fingers and palms included) and
forearms by speakers. Then, I will extend this term to cover facial gestures.

What is not considered a gesture?

 Gesture does not include the movement that is part of an instrumental action (e.g.,
holding a pen and writing).

2. How can Gestures be Categorized?

Gestures can be divided into:
- Representational gestures: which pictorially represent semantic content
related to speech. They demonstrate parallels of propositional content speech
and gesture; therefore, they are referential.
They may be redundant with respect to the meaning of the spoken words or
may add meaning.
o Iconic gestures: which depict concrete images of the speaker’s
thoughts.
Example:
Appearing to grasp and bend back something while saying “and he
bends it way back”. The gesture, as a referential symbol, functions via
its formal and structural resemblance to events or objects.
o Metaphoric gestures: which pictorially represent an abstract concept.
Example: A speaker appears to be holding an object, as if
representing, e.g., an idea or memory or some other abstract ‘object.
E.g., In saying 2he packed a lot into that lecture”, where the lecture is
presented as a container and the message as its contents.
- Non-Representational gestures: do not convey semantic content. Beats
(batons) describes the hand that appears to be beating time. Beats are mere
flicks of the hand(s) up and down or back and forth, zeroing in rhythmically on
the prosodic peaks of speech. This rhythmicity has made beats seem purely
speech related.
Beats also have discourse functionally, signaling the temporal locus of
something the speaker feels to be important with respect to the larger context.
One can think of a beast as gestural yellow highlighter.
- Deictic gesture: is an extended index finger but almost any extensible body
part or held object can be used. They entail locating entities and actions in
space vis-à-vis a reference point. Therefore, they establish joint attention with
the addressee.
Much of the pointing in the adult conversation and storytelling is not pointing
at physically present objects or locations but is abstract pointing, hence the
terms deixis at phantasma.
- Co-Speech gestures: Representational, non-representational or deictic gestures
(all referred inclusively to as co-speech gestures) consider gestures that are
produced in interactive, communicative interactions as accompaniment to
speech.
There is an additional type of gesture which can be used as a substitute for
speech.
- Emblems: (autonomous or conventional gestures) are used as a substitute for
speech.
Emblems are symbolic, i.e. they have an arbitrary, socially defined, relationship
with their referent, knowledge of which must be shared by those producing
them and those seeing them (i.e., culturally specific).
Emblems are considered conventionalized signs.
Thumbs up or the ring (first finger and thumb touching, other fingers extended)
symbolizes OK)
Emblems are also known as quotable gesture as it refers to a potential for a
roughly complete verbal translation. OK can be translated into terms of
approbation.

2.1.1. Families of gestures

1. Gestures of the precision grip: gestures of the “finger bunch” or
Grappolo (G-family) and Ring-gestures (R-family) root in
actions that are concerned with grabbing or holding something
(small) in a precise fashion.

a. The G-family (Grappolo). Three variants which are

pragmatic:
i. The hand is closed into the grappolo and drawn
towards the speaker (P). (Used to establish a
topic which needs close attention, qualifying it
as a clarification or specification of someone’s
puzzlement.)
ii. The grappolo is oscillated several times (P).
(Used as a display of puzzlement, of something
that contradicts the expectations of the speaker,
and demands an explanation.)
iii. The grappolo opens into a Palm Up Hand (P).
(The grappolo is sustained, moved outwards,
and the fingers open into a palm open hand with
a forward and downward thrust. The thrust
movement marks or expresses the comment on
this topic, or a qualification or modification of
it.)
 b. The R-family (Ring-gestures): the tips of the index
finger and the thumb touching, forming a ring. Gestures
of the R-family root in precision grip actions: holding
something between the tips of the index finger and
thumb.
 Preciseness
 Exactness
Three variants:
i. The hand starts in the Ring-shape and is then
opened. (Shown when the speaker is engaged in
a discourse in which something quite specific is
being mentioned.)
ii. The hand is lifted, forming the Ring and then
presenting it. (Used to offer precise information
or give precise instructions, when the
information that is specified stands in contrast to
what has been assumed or talked about before.)
iii. The hand starts in the Ring-shape, the palm
facing the speaker’s midline, and is moved in
the vertical plane. (Used when the speaker is
making clear a specific point, when insisting, the
baton-like movements being orchestrated with
the verbal utterance.)
2. Palm up Open Hand (PUOH): PUOH is one of the most
widespread gestures within everyday conversations. Many
sequences end in an open hand, quite often with the palm
facing upwards, which, in these sequences, functions in a
common-like manner. Two core kinetic features of PUOH are:
- The hand shape (fingers are more or less extended)
- The orientation of the palm (facing up)
An action of presenting something on the palm of the open
hand and sharing it for joint inspection.
3. Brushing Aside Gesture: this is a very common and
frequently used gesture in Spanish everyday conversation.
It is most often used to ‘brush aside’ discursive objects or the
behavior of others.
 Using the back or the side of the hand instead of the sensitive
palm to remove things, supports the assumption that the objects
are indeed conceived of as annoying.
a. Used at the midline level of the speaker, it signals that
something is negative and marks the end of a certain
discursive activity.
b. Used at shoulder level, it primarily expresses a
communicative move. This gesture is most often used
without accompanying speech, either as an utterance on
its own or at the end of a completed verbal utterance.
c. When the movement is directed towards somebody else,
the addressed person becomes the object that is to be
brushed aside, the gesture thus turns into an insult and a
request to go away.
4. Describing gestures: hand shapes

5. Describing gestures: shapes of digits

3. What are the Pragmatic Functions of Gestures?

1. Operational
Kinesics expression which operates in relation to what is being expressed verbally.
Operational gestures:
- Confirm what is being uttered.
- Deny what is being uttered.
- Negate what is being uttered.
2. Modal
 The gesture which provides an interpretative frame for what is being expressed
verbally.
Modal gestures indicate what is being said:
- Is a quotation.
- Is hypothetical.
- Is to be taken literacy.
- Is to be taken as a joke.
3. Performative
Kinesics expression which expresses the illocutionary force of what is being expressed
verbally.
Performative gestures show:
- Whether a question is being asked.
- Whether a request or an offer is being made.
4. Parsing
Kinesics expression which makes distinct different components of the discourse.
Parsing gestures provide:
- Emphasis
- Contrast
- Parenthesis
- Information regarding theme-rheme
- Information regarding topical focus.

5. Interactional (interpersonal)
Interactional gestures include the use of manual actions in:
- Waving
- Greeting
- Inviting someone to do something.
- Offering
- Withdrawing
- Beckoning or halting
- Requesting or inviting turns at speaking.

4. What are Conversational, Pragmatic Facial Gestures?

In a face-to-face interaction, the faces of the speaker and the addressee are rarely still, and
most of these facial movements are synchronized with the spoken discourse.
Facial movements and facial displays do not interrupt ongoing speech production and both
parties can produce them at the same time, making face-to-face interaction very interactive
and multimodal.
Facial gestures could involve actions or configurations of any parts
 BLOCK 2: Speech Acts
Unit 3: Speech Act Theory: Austin

Doing Things with Words

To utter something is to DO something (speech act).
Central claim of the Speech Act theory  Uttering a sentence is an action within
social conventions.
The Speech Act Theory is a pragmatic theory as it involves:
- An intention of the speaker
- An inference of the hearer
Example:
Advisor: How did you hear about our service?  Explicit question to avoid
confusion.
Caller: From the internet.
In other situations, speech acts are less explicit, so hearers have to infer the speaker’s
meaning from the context:
You’re on camera:
- Informing the addressee
- Warning the addressee
- Reminding the addressee
Speech Act Theory:
 Describes utterances by the actions they perform.
 Explains the discrepancy between what we say and what we mean.
 Offers a taxonomy of the functions utterances perform.

Oxford philosopher, J.L. Austin: How do the hearers know what act the speaker
intended to perform by a given utterance?  introduced the Speech Act Theory
(SAT) in How to do things with words (1962).

1. Performatives vs. Constatives

Austin realized 2 things:
1. Many utterances describe something, but many others don’t.
a. She walked out of the room T iff (if and only if) the referent of she
did walk out of the room.
2. Many declarative sentences don’t describe things, but do things.

Austin (1962) distinguished between

Constatives Performatives
Assertions with a truth value Not used to say something
Characteristics (i.e. they can be T/F T/F
Describe a (present or past) Are used to perform an act
state of affairs in context
Examples 1. The sky is 1. I hereby declare the
 blue ceremony open (declaration)
2. Mike 2. I apologise for the delay
apologized to (apology)
Mrs. Manor 3. I promise I’ll be home by
(past 10pm (promise)
apologise)
3. John is
promising to
be home by
10pm.
(describes a
promise)

Performative Properties:
 Performative verb b. I hereby promise to be
 1st person pronoun home by 10pm
 Present tense c. I hereby apologise for the
 Declarative sentence delay.
 Pass hereby test

Compare (b-c) with the result of the hereby test constatives:

3. *Mike hereby apologized to Mrs. Manor.

Performatives Constatives
accomplish dont achieve
the act the act they
described describe.

Performative verbs: order, get married, baptize, bet, bless, appoint somebody, invite, promise,
offer, threaten, congratulate, warn, curse, excommunicate, protest, thank.

Austin proposes to assess performatives in terms of their validity in a specific situation.

Example:
“I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may update your Facebook status!  only
performed successfully in a wedding, uttered by a speaker with authority to marry people
(appropriate context).  part of a conventional/institutional act (g-i).

1.1.
Austin’s revised theory
Distinction between constatives and performatives is flawed:
A. Some utterances perform an act, but without the from of a performative
1. Sit down!:
- No 1st person subject
 - No present tense
- No declarative tense
- No hereby test: *Hereby sit down!
2. I command you to sit down!
- 1st person subject
- Present tense
- Declarative sentence
- Hereby test.
B. Some performative utterances
3. a. You are hereby authorized to pay.
b. Passengers are warned to cross the track by the bridge only.
c. Notice is hereby given that trespassers will be prosecuted.
- Have no 1st person (3a)
- Are in passive voice (3b)
- Pass hereby test (3c)

C. Some expressions in 1st person subject and present tense are nor performative, but
describe habitual actions:
4. a. I promise only when intend to keep my word.
b.I bet him (every morning) six pence that it will rain.
c. I call an adult someone who has stopped growing at both ends and is
expanding in the middle.

Some performative verbs function sometimes as non-performative; they have

DESCRIPTIVE USES.

Austin notices a great number of utterances are used to perform acts, despite not being
performatives.
He distinguished:
 Explicit performatives (the performative verb is in the utterance)
 Implicit performative (no performative verb in utterance)
Both perform similar acts, but only one has the form of a performative.
 Explicit Performatives
Contain a performative verb in the
utterance, e.g.
I warn you not to say that
I order you not to say that
I advise you not to say that
I forbid you not to say that
I promise I’ll be home by 10
I apologize for being late
Implicit Performatives
No performative verb in utterance, but
easily inferable, e.g.
Don’t say that!
- Warning
- Order
- Advice
- Prohibition
Depending on context and relation
speaker-hearer
I’ll be home by 10pm (a promise)
Oh, I’m really sorry! (an apology)
You’d better do your homework or… (a
threat left unstated).
Most performatives in English are implicit
as they are seldom uttered explicitly.

1.2. Locutionary, Illocutionary and Perlocutionary Acts

Austin distinguished 3 elements within each speech act:
1. Locutionary act: what the speaker says (act of saying something meaningful)
a. John: Honey, do you want to go out tonight?
Laura: I’m feeling sick  I refers to “Laura”, sick means “unhealthy”.
1. Illocutionary act: the speaker’s intention in uttering an utterance, i.e. act in
saying something
I’m feeling sick  stating Laura doesn’t want to go out,
2. Perlocutionary act: intended effect/s of the speech act on the hearer (i.e. the act
performed by saying something, e.g. persuading, convincing, etc.)
I’m feeling sick  persuading John not to go out.
The illocutionary act expresses the illocutionary force of an utterance.
The same locutionary act can have different illocutionary forces in different contexts:
b. You’re on camera  to inform hearer (“you can start talking now”)
A reminder (“I remind you we’re on air”)
A warning (“Careful with what you say”)

1.2.1. Illocutionary vs. Perlocutionary Acts

Differences between illocutions and perlocutions:
Illocutionary acts Perlocutionary acts
Speaker-based Hearer-based
Under speaker’s full control Not under speaker’s full control
Evident as the utterance is made Not evident until after the utterance has
been made
Determinate Indeterminate
More tied to linguistic forms Less tied to linguistic forms

1.3. Austin’s Felicity Conditions

As performatives don’t depend on truth conditions, its success depends on some felicity
conditions related to the contextual appropriateness of the utterance.
 To succeed in the act of marrying, the appropriate context should be:
o 2 people must intend and want to get married.
o The person marrying them must be qualified and asked to do so
 To succeed in christening a ship
o There must be a christen-able.
o The ship’s name must be chosen beforehand.
 To succeed in apologizing, the speaker
o Must have harmed/hurt the hearer.
o Intends to express regret for the action performed.
If one of these conditions fails, the speech act will fail too.
Austin called these felicity conditions  conditions under which words can be used
properly to perform actions  contextual restrictions on speech acts’ use.

Austin lists 3 felicity conditions for performatives to be felicitous:

 1: There must be an accepted conventional procedure with a conventional
effect.
o Example: A judge utters “I sentence you to life imprisonment” in the
shower, not in court.
“I hereby marry you” (said a friend in a pub)
 2: The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified in the
procedure.
o Example: I baptize this baby Harold (baby’s name should be Harry)
I appoint you (when that person has been appointed.
 1: The procedure must be executed by all participants correctly and 2
completely (errors or omissions).
 1: Participants must have the appropriate thoughts, feelings, and intentions to
do the act, as specified in the procedure.
o Example: congratulating someone when you know they have passed
their examination by cheating.
 2: The participants must conduct themselves subsequently.
o Example: I promise to be faithful to you when I don’t intend to be
faithful.
A violation of any of these conditions will render the performative unhappy or
infelicitous.
Austin views the gamma rules qualitatively different from  and :
Infelicities of  are called misinvocations (the act isn’t allowed).
Infelicities of  are misexecutions (flaws in 1 or hitches in 2).
The act doesn’t go through in these cases (misfires).
Infelicities of gamma conditions are abuses, but the act goes through. They result in
insincerities.
2. Searle
American philosopher, John Searle, was Austin’s disciple in Oxford.
He developed Austin’s Speech Act Theory focusing on:
1. Austin’s felicity conditions.
2. The illocutionary acts performed by the speaker.
2.1. Searle’s felicity conditions
Illocutionary Act = “the production of a sentence token under certain conditions”
(1965:2).
To explain an illocutionary act is necessary and sufficient conditions for its performance
(Ibidem).

Searle developed Austin’s felicity conditions into 4 basic categories:

a) Propositional content
b) Preparatory condition
c) Sincerity condition
d) Essential condition

Propositional Content Condition:

 Focuses on what the speech act is about, its textual content.
 Requires participants to understand language
o Requesting: future act (A) of the hearer (H)
o Promising: future A of the speaker (S)
o Thanking: past A done by H
o Greeting: none
o Stating: any proposition
o Congratulating: event (E) related to H
o Warning: future E

Preparatory Conditions:
 Focuses on the prerequires to do a speech act:
o S & H agree it is situationally appropriate.
o S has the authority to make the speech act (can do)
o Presuppositions S makes in relation to H
  Request: 1) H is able to do A; 2) Not obvious to S & H that H
would do A without being asked.
 Promise: 1) S believes H wants A done; 2) S can do A; 3) A
has not been done yet; 4) H will benefit from A.
 Thanking: 1) A benefits S; 2) S believes A benefits S
 Greeting: S has just met or been introduced to H
 Stating: 1) S has evidence for the truth of p; 2) Not obvious H
knows p.
 Congratulating: E is in H’s best interest
Sincerity Conditions:
 Focuses on S’s psychological states (beliefs, feelings and intentions): S means
what they say
o Request: S wants H to do A
o Promise: S genuinely intends to do A (keeping a promise)
o Thanking: S feels grateful for A
o Greeting: none
o Stating: S believes p
o Congratulating: S is pleased at E
If not fulfilled, A is performed but there is an abuse.
Essential Condition:
 Focuses on S’s intention in making A and this intention being recognized by H
(illocutionary point).
o Request: counts as S’s attempt to get H to do A
o Promise: counts as S’s taking on an obligation to do A
o Thanking: counts as an expression of gratitude
o Greeting: counts as courteous recognition of H by S
o Stating: counts as an undertaking that p represents an actual state of
affairs
o Congratulating: counts as an expression of pleasure at E.
If not fulfilled, A isn’t performed.
Conclusions:
 The content of the utterance must be appropriate to perform A (the
prepositional-content rule)
o Thank you to perform a promise.
 Conditions must be right to perform A (preparatory conditions)
o No point in apologizing if you haven’t hurt anyone.
 S should be sincere, like a verbal contract (sincerity condition)
o Make insincere apologies, promises, etc.
 S must count as actually performing A (essential condition)
o I pronounce you husband and wife (wedding guest)

2.2. Searle’s Classification of Speech Acts

Searle’s work on speech acts is usually seen as improving Austin’s, but there is a
significant difference between the two:

Austin Searle
Conventional interpretation of speech Psychological interpretation of speech
acts. acts.
Action performed in saying sth Based on beliefs, intentions, etc.

In colloquial language we don’t really mean what we say, hearers must infer illocutionary
acts as the meaning is not directly expressed.
Based on Austin, Searle identified 5 speech acts to infer the illocutionary force of an
utterance in context:
1. Representatives commit S to the truth of the proposition: asserting, believing,
claiming, concluding, describing, hypothesizing, insisting, putting forward,
reporting, stating, suggesting, swearing, telling…
a. I think that man is right.
b. No one makes a better cake than me.
2. Directives express S’s wish that H do something: advising, asking, begging,
challenging, commanding, daring, defying, inviting, ordering, questioning,
requesting, warning, etc.
a. Tidy your room!
b. Could you close the window?
3. Commissives express S’s intention to do A: betting, favoring, intending,
offering, opposing, promising, planning, refraining, threatening, vowing, etc.
a. Don’t worry! I’ll be there on time.
b. I promise I didn’t do that.
4. Expressives express S’s psychological state, how S feels about a situation:
apologizing, blaming, condoling, congratulating, deploring (dis) liking,
praising, thanking, welcoming, etc.
a. Thanks for a wonderful meal!
b. I am very disappointed.
c. Happy birthday!
5. Declaratives cause immediate changes in some state of affairs: appointing,
baptizing, declaring war, excommunicating, firing, marrying, resigning,
sentencing, etc.
a. Human resources manager to employee: you’re fired!
b. Professor: Class dismissed!”
The speaker must be empowered to make the declaration.

Illocutionary Point Expressed psychological state

Representative Belief (speaker)
Directive Desire (speaker)
Commissive Intention (speaker)
Expressive Variable (speaker)
 Declarative None (speaker)

2.3. Direct and Indirect Speech Acts

Speech acts can be classified into:
 Direct: the locutionary act and the illocutionary force coincide. The intention is
explicitly expressed in the message.
 Indirect: the locutionary act does not coincide with the illocutionary force. The
intention is implicitly expressed in the message.
2.3.1. Direct Speech Acts
Direct speech acts = direct match between locutionary act/linguistic form and
illocutionary act.
A declarative is used to make a statement  You wear a jacket
An imperative is used to make an order  Wear a jacket!
An interrogative is used to ask a question  Do you wear a jacket?

Locut.act/Ling.form Illocut. Act Communicative Example

function
Declarative Statement Conveys Sarah got an A
information on the test
Imperative Order/Request Causes others to Get an A on the
behave in certain test!
ways
Interrogative Question Elicits information Why’re you
picking on me?

3 types of direct speech acts:

 Statements
 Questions
 Orders
Other speech acts don’t have a specific syntactic construction:
- If you cross that line, I’ll shoot you.  a threat
- If you get all A’s, I’ll buy you a car!  a promise
2.3.2. Indirect Speech Acts
In indirect speech acts, there is a mismatch between linguistic form/ locutionary act
and illocutionary force. Indirect speech acts have 2 illocutionary forces.
Can you pass me the water?
- Literal meaning or direct illocution  Secondary illocutionary force:
answering yes to question.
- Non-literal or indirect illocution  Primary illocutionary force: passing the
water.