PRAGMATICS Learning materials

BY: MICKAELLA V. ASIERTO

BSED II BLOCK C
• PRAGMATICS STUDIES:

 How utterances are used .

 its about interpreting what speakers mean.
 SENTENCE vs. UTTERANCES

• UTTERANCE
• SENTENCE:
• The use of a sentence, in a
A string of words put together
particular context.
by the grammatical rules of
language
THE INTERPRETATION OF MESSAGES:

 BASED ON:
-knowledge of the meaning
- knowledge about context
LINGUISTIC CONTEXT

• Linguistic context/co-text:
- set of words used in the same phrase or context
- as the word ‘pupil’ is a homonym
- how do we know which meaning is intended?
• Usually by means of the linguistic context:
- If it is used in asentence with words like ‘teacher’,
- we understand that the pupil here means ?
- if it is used in a sentence with words like ‘eye’, ‘dilatation’ we
know that here it means ?
PHYSICAL CONTEXT

• Physical context:
- if the location will influence interpretation

• If you see a sign like this near a school:

- SLOW DOWN. PUPILS CROSSING THE STREET
- It does not that you have to slow down because you could run
over eye-pupils and reduce them to a pulp.
LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT

• The intended meaning of the whole exchanges depends on:

CONTEXT
INTENTIONS
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS

If we don’t have a context or some knowledge about a situation ,

the meaning can be ‘ invisible’
DEIXIS

• Deixis comes from Greek and means ‘pointing’ by means of

language

• Words that cannot be interpreted alone, without being put in a

context if used without a shared knowledge or clear contxt can
result very vague.
• PERSON DEIXIS : I, YOU, THEM
• PLACE DEIXIS: HERE, THERE, THAT
• TIME DEIXIS : NOW
THEORIES

 Speech acts theory

 Relevance theory
 Cooperation theory
 Argumentation theory
SPEECH ACT THEORY

Words do not have meaning by themselves

Speech acts

• We can use languages to do things

• What can we do with the following expressions?
1. Time out!
2. Shotgun!

• the meaning of these expression is what they do

EXPRESSION AND MEANING

Assertive
Directives
Commissive
Expressive
Declaratives
Speech acts examples

• Speech acts can also be performed with complete sentences

John read the book. Assertion

Did john read the book. Question
Please pass the salt. Request
ANALYSIS OF SPEECH ACT

• Speech acts can be analyzed by three levels

LOCUTIONARY ACT
PRELOCUTIONARY ACT
ILLOCUTIONARY ACT
LOCUTIONARY ACT

• Speaker’s utterance:
-the performance of an utterance
- semantic and syntactic aspects

Example:
‘close the window’
ILLUCOTIONARY ACT

• Speaker’s intention
- Real intended meaning

Example:
The person who is talking is cold.
PERLOCUTIONAR ACT

• Hearer’s reaction:
Its actual effect

Example:
The action of closing the window.
COOPERATION THEORY

• The way in which people try to make conversation work.

THE CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE

• 4. MAXIMS ( SAYING):
- quantity
- quality
- relation
- manner
PRAGAMATICS ANALYSIS

• Related to the situation

• Related to the context
• Related to the people
• Related to the information
SUMMARY

• PRAGMATICS STUDIES:
- The use and effects of language
how it is based on the relationship established between:
utterance, context and interlocutors.