B3. Pragmatics: Context + Presupposition

Pragmatics

(ngữ dụng học)

• the study of speaker meaning: presupposition (tiền giả định); speech acts (hành vi lời nói); implicature (hàm ý)

• the appropriate use of language in different contexts;

utterance

• is any stretch of talk, by 1 person, before and after it, this is a silence part of that person

(silence: the length of an utterance may vary)

• It is a physical event, may consist of a single word, a phrase, a sentence (or many sentences together)

(là đơn vị thực tế của lời nói trong giao tiếp. Khi một người bắt đầu nói và dừng lại, toàn bộ phần lời nói đó được gọi là một phát ngôn và giữa các phát ngôn sẽ có khoảng im lặng, đó là cách để nhận biết đâu là điểm bắt đầu và kết thúc. Đặc điểm của phát ngôn đó là một physical event. Phát ngôn có thể chỉ là một từ, một cụm từ, một câu hoàn chỉnh, hoặc nhiều câu liên tiếp. Ở một câu (sentence) nó cần người nói và người nghe trong 1 ngữ cảnh giao tiếp, còn phát ngôn là tổng hợp những điều trên)

How many kinds of context are there in pragmatics?

1. physical context

2. epistemic context /epɪˈstiːmɪk/, /epɪˈstemɪk/

3. social context

4. linguistic context (co-text)

Physical context

• (Ngữ cảnh vật lý): time + place of an utterance can change its meaning

• Factors: the location, time of day, weather, noise level, lighting, and other physical elements that can influence communication

• Eg: A: “Where’s the cheese sandwich setting?” - B: “He’s over there by the window”

  → physical context: in a restaurant

Social context

• relationship between speaker and listener, shapes the meaning of an utterance

• Factors: social norms, relations, roles

• Eg: “You are pretty !”

  • Bạn bè với nhau → lời khen

  • Nhân viên bán hàng vs khách hàng → lời khuyên mua sp

    => mang nhiều nghĩa khác nhau vs các context khác nhau → social context

Linguistic context

(also called co-text)

• all the other words that stand next to it, even before or after (lexical terms)

• What has been said already in the utterance (đề cập đến những gì đã được nói trong lời nói)

• the intonation

• Eg: “I went to a bank”

  • Nếu thiếu context thì sẽ ko hiểu là “bank of a river” hay là “bank - a financial situation”

  • Nếu thêm context “to withdraw some money” → “bank” mang nghĩa xác định

Epistemic context

(episteme = knowledge)

• the knowledge the speaker and the listener have about the way the world operates, or one another.

• Eg: “Excuse me, can you lower your voice? I’m trying to focus on my book” (speaker + listener are in a library)

  → everyone knows that a library is a quiet place.

What kind of context is in this sentence: Be here at 9:00 tonight.

Physical context (location)

What kind of context is in this sentence: I want that book. (accompanied by pointing)

Physical context (location)

Linguistic context is the tone of voice or intonation that speaker uses. TRUE or FALSE

TRUE. For example: "You don't love me, do you?";

Intonation:
do YOU?
DO you?
-> which one already have an answer or is really asking

Identify context.
• "Dispatcher: 911 What's the nature of your emergency?
• Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart
• Dispatcher: Is this her first child?
• Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!”

• Physical context: home/ on the telephone

• Social context: A man talking to 911 reception/ a dispatcher to report to inform an emergency

• Epistemic knowledge: In case of emergency you should call 911 for help.

• Linguistic:
  + Lexical item: this -> dispatcher refer to the baby, but understood as the caller
  + Intonation: The caller is very angry

(dispatcher: nhân viên điều phối, contraction: sự co bóp dạ con)

presupposition

• the idea/assumption the speaker held before an utterance

• a message conveyed in 1 sentence may presuppose other pieces of information

kinds of presupposition

1. factive

2. non-factive

3. existential

4. counter-factural

5. lexical

6. structural

factive supposition

know, regret, realize, be aware,…

non-factive supposition

(not a fact) dream, imagine, pretend

existential supposition

Presupposition: tính từ sở hữu / sở hữu cách

counter-factual supposition

• If/wish/câu điều kiện

• Không chỉ không đúng mà còn trái với hiện tại

lexical presupposition

manage, stop, start, again

Dùng 1 từ mà nó đã imply sẵn 1 điều gì đó

structural presupposition

- Wh-question
- Đã nghĩ/cho rằng 1 điều gì đó đã xảy ra

List 2 presuppositions of “Andy usually drives his Mercedes to work”

• There is a person called Andy

• Andy has a job

• He can drive

List 2 presuppositions of: The police was not there when the robber were there

The police arrived not soon enough/not early enough to see the robber

The police failed to catch the robber red-handed.

List 5 presuppositions of: When Tom opened Jerry's room, he discovered Jerry had started smoking again

1. Tom exists/ Jerry exists

2. Jerry smoked

3. Tom was outside of Jerry's room

4. Jerry's room was closed

5. Tom knew Jerry had smoked before

What kind of presupposition is in this sentence: “She pretend to be hard-working”

Non-factive presupposition => She was not hard-working

What kind of presupposition is in this sentence: Everyone knew that she was hard-working

Factive presupposition => she was hard-working