English Linguistics II Flashcards

Flashcards for English Linguistics II, covering topics from text linguistics and pragmatics.

Text Linguistics

Deals with the structure and linguistic make-up of texts and their uses in communication

Pragmatics

Deals with the meanings of language utterances intended by speakers(speaker meaning) and understood by hearers(hearer meaning) in their contexts(=reading between the lines)

Linguistic Pragmatics

Methods/theories of language description oriented towards context and use rather than the system of a language.

Text

Typically understood as written piece of communication.

Origins of Pragmatics

ordinary language philosophy.

View of pragmatics

Component view (Anglo-American)

Perspective view (Continental European)

Component view(anglo-american)

Pragmatics is a core component of a theory of language alongside phonology, morphology, syntax etc.

Perspective view(Continental Europe)

Pragmatics is a functional perspective on linguistic phenomena in relation to their usage in the form of behaviour.

Origins of Text Linguistics

rhetoric; language needs to be appropriately and effectively used.

View/ Stages of Text Linguistics

Trans-clausal approach

comm.-pragmatics approach

cognitive approach

Trans-clausal Approach

Studies the means used to connect clauses/sentences (formal, text grammer).

Comm-pragmatic Approach

Studies the correlation between communication functions and textual forms (genre, register, types).

Cognitive Approach

Studies the production and reception of texts.(interpretation)

Under-determinacy thesis

States that certain linguistic phenomena can be handled naturally only when factoring in extra-linguistic, pragmatic factors.

Linguistic structures concerned

Pronouns,

Lexical Ambiguity,

Syntactic Ambiguity,

Grammatical Structures(morphology,syntax)

Pronouns

Pointing/Indexical Expressions

E.g.: a) The authorites barred the anti-globalization demonstrators because they advocated violence.

Lexical Ambiguity

John is looking for his glasses.

a) glasses = spectacles

b) glasses – drinking vessels

Syntactic Ambiguity

Words or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way based on their structure, leading to different meanings in context.

They are cooking apples

a) What are they doing in the kitchen? They are cooking apples.

b) What kind of apples are those? They are cooking apples.

Possessive 's'

I borrowed Jane's car( the car jane owns)

Simon's job, Yesterday's events, Jane's father.

Word structure - phrase structure

Word combinations that convey a distinct meaning, illustrating how phrases can be constructed from smaller units.

Child actor - child psychologist.

Additive free - 50 per cent extra free.

Rift between saying/uttering and meaning

It is perfectly normal to say less than we mean or to mean more or even something else than we say.

Pragmatics Use

We use context to determine meaning

Conventional Indirectness

Utterances are under-determined when we are conventionally indirect. We perform one linguistic action but actually mean/indicate another. We rely on context/knowledge of situations for meaning.

E.g.: "Could you close the window?" typically requests someone to close it rather than just inquiring about their ability.

A: There is a big bookshop over there. (We could go and buy the book in there) B: No. (I don’t want to go in there.)

Metaphor

comparison without actual comparison

E.g: Christmas is behind us now but Easter will be coming up soon. (TIME IS PLACES IN SPACE THAT WE PASS ON A JOURNEY) Time flies. (TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT)

Metonymy

For the busy weekend ahead the restaurant needed some more hands. (HAND STANDS FOR PEOPLE)

All hands on deck(Hands-labour)

Non-literal meaning-making

Humans make systematic connections between concepts and use one to mean another.(cognitive aspect)

The non-literal expressions have become so conventionalized that we think of them as natural.

Two types of meaning

What we literally say and we contextually/conventionally mean.

1) Sentence meaning(pre-contextual)

2) speaker or utterance meaning (cintextual)

Sentence meaning(pre-contextual)

The meaning-potential of a sentence in the abstract following the language system.

(i.e. lexical meanings, paradigmatic/syntagmatic relations) – lexical/grammatical knowledge needed (of interest to semantics)

E.g.: Asking for ability and expressing potentiality.

Speaker or utterance meaning (contextual)

The meaning that a speaker intends to convey in a given situation or context by making an utterance.

speaker meaning ideally corresponds to hearer meaning – communicative/pragmatic knowledge needed (of interest to pragmatics)

E.g.: Requesting an action and requesting an action ('give it to me now!').

Reasons for the gap between expression and meaning

1. COMPLEXITIY OF THOUGHT/MATTER

2. SENSITIVE SOCIAL SITUATIONS

3. PLAYFULNESS/SELF-DISPLAY

4. TIME ECONOMY ?

Complexity of thought/matter

The matter you talk about is too complex – it invites vagueness and imprecision.

Sensitive social situations

Some situations call for implicit or indirect utterances.

Playfulness/self-display

Indirectness/non-literalness might aim at teasing, joking, or to showing off cleverness.

Time economy

Time constraints often lead us to say less than we actually mean; we leave things out.

Appropriateness

An utterance is appropriate if it fits the situation and is effective for both speaker and hearer.

16 Only open restraining bar shortly before you get off.

17 No smoking.

Relevance

Everything we seek to understand has to be given the appropriate relevance.

19 A: Let’s go the movies tonight.

B: I have to study for an exam.

Context - significance and approaches

Sentences and contexts need to be paired to get at speaker-meaning.

(also: hearer or uberance meaning) and to be able to understand the meaning of a text properly

Types of context

• Physical context

• Linguistic Context

• General knowledge context(real-world knowledge)

Physical context

Physical setting of the utterance (place, time, people).

22 He’s not the chief executive; he is. He’s the managing director.

23 Bring that thing over here and put it on there.

Linguistic context

(co-text) Surrounding utterances in the same discourse.

(i.e. previous/ consecutive sentences)

24 I found Ed Smith’s article offensive and wrong in its various assumptions. To declare Germany’s footballer’s cleverer than Brazil’s by drawing on just one match (…) is foolish. His “anecdotal” evidence is just that.

25 A: Who gave the waiter a large tip?

B: Helen?

General Knowledge Context

(real-world knowledge, common ground) Any information derivable from our world-knowledge that may be relevant to understanding an utterance/text; background assumptions (individual/social)

26 1) I went to Beijing last month. The Forbidden City was magnificent.

2) I went to Paris last month. The Forbidden City was magnificent.

27 Alcohol behind the wheel will kill you. (Don’t drink and drive.)

Deixis

Non-symbolic language signs point us to elements of the physical, linguistic, or general knowledge context.

32 This here is genuine, but that there is a fake.

Entailments and Inferences

Logical conclusions deriving from lexical meanings and semantic relations in sentences.(sentence meaning)

33 The soldier was killed in the war. (>> He is dead/no longer alive. Someone shot him.)

Equiry of Pragmatics

• Deixis

• Entailment & Interference

• presupposition

• speech acts

• co-operation & implicature

• politeness

Presuppositions

Assumptions speakers have prior to making an utterance.

34 My flat is bright and spacious. (>> I have a flat)

He started smoking again. (>> He had stopped smoking)

If I were there I would help him. (>> I am not there/I cannot help.)

Speech Acts

Utterances perform a linguistic action.(‘doing things with words’)

I promise I’ll come shopping with you. *I promise I went shopping with her yesterday. (COMMISSIVE SPEECH ACT)

Please, come shopping with me. (DIRECTIVE)

Co-operation & Implicature

Communicators rely on each other’s co-operative behaviour. i.e willingness…

A: Will you, please, come shopping with me?

B: I really had a dreadful day at work today. (Yes?/No?)

Politeness

In social interaction, we try not to impose on one another and to keep our self-image and that of others untainted.(i.e. to respect each other’s freedom)

37 I am awfully sorry to bother you. Could I ask you whether you would by any chance have the )me to look through this report?