《英语语用学》1

单击此处编辑母版标题样式,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,Http:/,*,单击此处编辑母版标题样式,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,第二级,第三级,第四级,第五级,*,Lecture One:,Introduction to Pragmatics,:,英语语用学,KeXianbing,Central China Normal University,2011-03-05,Http:/,Teaching outline,1,What is pragmatics?,2 A Historical Overview of the term “Pragmatics”,3 Pragmatics as a branch of linguistics,4 Pragmatic aspects of language use,5 The scope of pragmatics,Http:/,Preliminary examples,Example:,He went to town yesterday.,Linguistic analysis,includes:,Phonological,analysis:,Graphological,analysis,Grammatical,analysis(IC analysis):,Semantic,(componential /predicate) analysis :,Who is he? Which town or when is yesterday?,underdetermined, uncertain -,Http:/,Pragmatic analysis on,“,He went to town yesterday.”,Depending on the different contexts:,This sentence can be used by many people on many occasions for many purposes; it has meant many different things and performed many functions .,He,: anybody, any male- someones brother or father, Churchill, Stalin, or Roosevelt, or,胡锦涛，,etc.,town:,any place big enough to be called town- London, Moscow or Washington,汉口镇，武昌区，,etc.,yesterday:,any day in the past-,August 22, 1778, November 6, 1976, on May 1, 500 B.C, or even on Saturday, September 11, 2010.,Http:/,Pragmatic analysis on,“,He went to town yesterday.”,Depending on the different contexts:,This sentence can be performed,many functions,:,A statement of information, question, defense, warning, etc.,The context of situation,in which a sentence is used contributed a lot to its meaning, which can not be accounted for in pure linguistic /grammatical analysis.,Http:/,Comment:,So, how to apply,the general linguistic theories,into,actual language use, that is, how to create meaning and understand created meaning is an important aspect of the,pragmatic,study.,It is of vital significance to continue the pragmatic study besides the general, abstract linguistic study.,Thats what we are going to study this,morning:,Pragmatics,:the Study of Contextual Meaning.,Http:/,Preliminary examples,The door is open,.,What do you think this sentence mean?,Http:/,In one specific context,Contextual Meaning,.,A bank manager to a clerk standing in front of the safe box in the morning.,A person arrives home without a key, no one is there, the person tries the door and it opens.,A person sitting in a draughty room that is freezing cold.,.,Two people in an office. Its very noisy next door but the speaker doesnt want to get up.,A receptionist in an office; someone has just rung the bell or knocked.,You forgot to lock it again, Idiot!,What a relief! Now I dont have to sit out here waiting for someone to come.,.,No wonder Im cold.,.,Please come in.,.,Shut the door!,.,Http:/,In one specific context,Contextual Meaning,.,There is a couple. The husband works hard every and the wife says this to him.,.,Summer is coming. A girl has always been longing for new beautiful skirts, so she says this to her busy mother.,.,A lazy husband promised his wife to do housework a few days ago, but he doesnt wake up until 10 oclock on Sunday morning. The angrily wife shouts,to him.,.,Darling,you should have a good rest today.,.,Mum, lets go downtown to buy new skirts today.,.,Get up and do housework now. Its Sunday.,.,Interpretation of,“Today is,Sun,day.”,Http:/,1. What is Pragmatics?,The Study of Contextual Meaning,Pragmatics :,a field of study to take care of that part of,meaning of,language in use.,e.g.,A: Youre a,fool,.,B: What do you,mean,?,Here, the meaning communicated through language are two types:,conventional,meanings and,intentional,meanings,. The former is studied in,semantics,and the latter in,pragmatics,.,Http:/,1. What is Pragmatics?,The Study of Contextual Meaning,The difference between semantics and pragmatics “can be traced to two different uses of the verb,to mean,”,1),What does X,mean?(,a,dyadic relation,),2),What did you mean by,X?,(a,triadic one),Pragmatics,has more to do with the analysis of,what people mean by their utterances,that what the words or phrases in those utterances might,mean by themselves,.,Http:/,1. What is Pragmatics?,The Study of Contextual Meaning,Differences between,grammatical vs. pragmatic analysis,?,First, grammatical studies look for,grammatical,rules,while pragmatic studies look for,pragmatic,principles,.,Second, In grammar studies, we end up with,stable,products,while in pragmatics we always deal with,dynamic,processes,.,Http:/,1. What is Pragmatics?,The Study of Contextual Meaning,In addition, there exist the following:,i) Abstract,linguistic unit-,instances,of the system,ii) Sentence,level- big chunks of conversation/,utterance,level,iii),Sentence in,isolation,-,contexts,of situation.,iv) Literal,meaning- speakers,implied,meaning,v) Abstract,meaning-,concrete,meaning,vi) Conventional,Meaning- speakers,intentional,meaning,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,In order to under the subject of pragmatics, we have to look back the origin of pragmatics. Modern usage of the term , “pragmatics” was first introduced by an American philosopher named Charles Morris(1938) in his Foundations of the Signs.,In this book, he was concerned to define the study of signs or semiotics. Within semiotics, he distinguished three branches of study and gave a definition to each of them as:,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Syntactics,(syntax),: the study of “the formal relations of signs to one another.”,Semantics,: the study of “the relations of signs to the objects to which the signs are applicable ”,Pragmatics,: the study of “the relation of signs to interpreters.”,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Among them, syntax is the study of the study of the relationships between linguistic forms, how they are arranged in sequence, and which sequences are well-formed. This type of study generally takes place without considering any world of reference or any user of the forms.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Semantics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and entities in the world ; that is, how words literally connect to things. Semantic analysis also attempts to establish the relationships between verbal descriptions and states of affairs in the world as a accurate (true) or not, regardless of who produces that description.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Pragmatics is the study of the relationships between linguistic forms and the users of those forms. In this three-part distinction, only pragmatics allows humans into the analysis .,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,The advantage of studying language via pragmatics is that one can talk about peoples intended meanings, their assumptions, their purposes or goals , and the kinds of actions (for example, requests) that they are performing when they speak.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,The big disadvantage is that all these very human concepts are extremely difficult to analyze in a consistent and objective way.,Two friends having a conversation may imply some things and infer some others without providing any clear linguistic evidence that we can point to as the explicit source of the meaning of what was communicated.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,(2) Man: So- did you?,Woman: Hey-who wouldnt?,Pragmatics is appealing and important just because its about how people make sense of each other linguistically, but it can be a frustrating area of study because it requires us to make sense of people and what they have in mind.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Pragmatics is a young science: 40y,A waste paper basket disciple: in the guise of “ragbag” taking overflow from semantics:,Philosophical tradition- linguistic turn pragmatic turn cognitive turn,sense (concept-implication) -reference- force /intention/,implicature,2)Since the early 1970s, Pragmatics becomes worldwide,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Pragmatics is a young science: 40y,3)The International Journal of Pragmatics (,IPrA,) in 1977,4)The International Pragmatics Association (,IPrA,) in,1985.,5) China Pragmatic Association (,CPrA,) in 2003,中国语用学研究会,历届回顾,.DAT,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,As to the sentence “The duck ran up to Mary and licked her.”, a syntactic approach to this sentence would be concerned with the rules that determine the correct structure and exclude any incorrect orderings such as Up duck Mary to the ran.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Syntactic analysis would also be required to show that there is a missing element (and -licked her) before the verb licked and to explicate the rules that allow that empty slot, or accept the pronoun it in that position. Syntax does not concern the logical sense of the sentence.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Over the semantics side , It needs to consider the meaning features such as “duck” (animate) . Semantics is also concerned with the truth conditions of propositions expressed in sentences based on its literal meaning.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,But on the pragmatic level, there are many other principles to make sense of what we hear and read in a specific situations such as:,“Interpret order of mention as a reflection of order of occurrence”,and “The more two speakers have in common , the less language theyll need to use to identify familiar things.” etc.,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Pragmatics is closely connected with language use in a specific situations or contexts to express a certain meanings.,To the study of,“MEANING”,the difference between semantics and pragmatics can be traced to two different uses of the verb ,to mean,:,1 What does X mean ? 2 What did you mean by X ?,Http:/,1.2.A brief historical overview,Semantics,traditionally deals with meaning as a dynamic relation, while,pragmatics,deals with meaning as a triadic relation.,The meaning in pragmatics is defined relative to a speaker or user of the language whereas meanings in semantics is defined purely as a property of expressions in a given language, in abstraction from particular situations, speakers, or hearers.,Http:/,1.3.Pragmatic aspects of language use,Generally speaking, pragmatics can be defined as a branch of linguistic study that concerns the factors that govern our choice of language in social interaction and the effects of our choice on others .,There are many and various factors influencing our use of language in social interaction.,Http:/,1.3.Pragmatic aspects of language use,Pragmatic factors influence our selection of sounds , grammatical constructions and vocabulary from the resources of the language . In many languages .,Http:/,1.3.Pragmatic aspects of language use,Pragmatic distinctions of formality , politeness , and intimacy are spread throughout the grammatical ,lexical and phonological systems, ultimately reflecting matters of social class, status and role ,Http:/,1.3.Pragmatic aspects of language use,For example:,1). A: Will you come to my birthday party today?,B: Of course.,2) A: Is it a good hotel?,B: Of course.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Since pragmatics concerns about factors governing our choice of language in communication and the effects of our choice on others, now under this title , we are going to consider some aspects of language use that are of particular interest to pragmatics and may be helpful to the understanding of the term “pragmatics”.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Appropriacy, one of the features of the language use that is of interest to pragmatists is its,appropriacy,in relation those who use it and those to whom they address.,Appropriacy,suggests that people should say the right thing to the right person with the right manner at the right place and in the right situation.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Indirect Meaning,: implied meaning, functional meaning.,Besides being appropriate to the context in which they are used , many utterances are also indirect in the sense that their literal meanings were what all the speakers intended them to convey.,e.g. 3) Right shall we begin?,4) How are you?,5)How is everything going on these days?,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Sometimes the literal meaning is far removed from the indirect meaning.,e.g. 6) He is from Barcelona.,7),Radition,removes dirt and,odours,(a kind of washing powder).,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,It is also remarkable that people are often very clever at interpreting indirectness of meaning in communication.,e.g. 8) A: Wasnt the wind dreadful in the night.,B: I didnt hear it.,A: Eh, it was dreadful.,B: You know what they;,A: I must have a guilty conscience.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Indirectness too is typical of the real world language use, and that literal or stated ,meaning is only one aspect of the meaning conveyed in an utterance .,Pragmatics studies language and, more , language beyond its literal meaning.,Inference:,The role of which is a process of communication, relying on the specific context.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,This suggests that communication is not merely a matter of a speaker forming a thought in language and sending it as a spoken message through space , or as a written message on paper, to a listener or reader who listens to or reads it.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,This is obviously insufficient -the receiver must not only interpret what is received but also draw an inference as to what is conveyed beyond what is stated.,e.g. 9) I am a man.,10) Female toilet on floor above.,11) I really liked your new haircut.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Indeterminacy:,Regarding some meanings as matters of inference has one important consequence. That is, utterances we heard are in some way unclear, or , as linguists sometimes say , undetermined .,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,This indeterminacy nature of language suggests that an utterance might typically have one of several different meanings, and that that the inferences we draw determine which of these possible meanings is the one the addressee thinks the speaker is intending to convey.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,There are some examples of undetermined utterances in the section we have just talked about like:,“Im a man .”,“I really like your new haircut .”,In these examples we need to draw inferences to determine which in a number of different possible understandings is the right one.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,In analyzing the indeterminacy of utterances , we must seek the help of context which surrounds an utterance and which gives rise to the meaning of it. We shall see how context helps to determine an intended meaning.,e.g.12) Ive just finished a book.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Although very often we think what we say is clear and straightforward , in practical use and in daily communication, however , our utterances are actually far from being clear and straightforward .,Pragmatics is partly about trying to account in systematic ways for our ability to determine what speakers intend even when their utterances are so actually underdetermined.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Context:,Linguistic context,- the language that surrounds or accompanies the piece of utterance or discourse under analysis .,e.g. 13) In the center of London , there is a tall building with the name “Bush House.” BBC English is part of the BBC World Service. It is the Home of BBC English.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Context:,14) Christopher Columbus and his friends reached America in 1949 . Corn is a useful plant that can be eaten by both people and animals. There they discovered the plant “ corn”. At least 450 years ago corn was brought to China . By 1555 it had become important here.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Non-linguistic context,- the type of communicative,event(for,example, joke, story , lecture , greeting , conversation), the topic, the purpose of the event, the setting including location of day , time and physical aspects of the situation, the participants and the relationships between them, the background knowledge, etc.,Http:/,1.4 Pragmatic Meaning of Language,Both types of context may give rise to the meaning of discourse/utterances under analysis . Context is a big concept . It helps to create meaning . Because pragmatists are interested in the meanings of utterances, they are also interested in the contexts in which utterances occur. The two are very closely related and integrated!,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,Since Morris introduced pragmatics and he emphasized the semiotic nature of pragmatics, the term has come to be used in two different ways .,On the one hand, the broad use of pragmatics given by Morris has been remained . This broad use of pragmatics which is still common in nowadays research comes to overlap with some fields of language study which include:,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,Semantics,:Pragmatics and semantics both take into account such notions as the intentions of the speaker, the effects of an utterance on listeners, the implications that follow from expressing something in a certain way , and the knowledge, beliefs and presuppositions about the world upon which speakers and listeners rely when they interact.,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,Semantics,concentrates on meaning that comes from purely linguistic knowledge (abstract meaning),while,pragmatics,concentrates on those aspects of meaning that can not be predicted by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account knowledge about the physical and social world.,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,2. Stylistics and Socio-linguistics:,these fields overlap with pragmatics in the study of social relations which exist between participants , and of the way extra-linguistic setting, activity , and subject matter can constrain the choice of linguistic features and varieties .,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,3. Psycholinguistics,: Pragmatics and psycholinguistics both investigate the psychological states and abilities of the participants that will have a major effect upon their performance such factors as attention , memory ,and personality.,Http:/,1.5 Some terms related with Pragmatics,4.Discourse Analysis,: Both discourse analysis and pragmatics are centrally concerned with the analysis of conversation, and share several of the philosophical and linguistics notions that have been developed to handle this topic (such as the way information is distributed within a sentence, deictic forms, or the notion of conversational maxims).,Http:/,www