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English Language > Pragmatics > Flashcards

Pragmatics Flashcards

1
Q

What is a locutionary act?

A

We produce a meaningful utterance [i.e. what we say]

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2
Q

What is an illocutionary act?

A

the real intent behind our utterance i.e. what we intend our utterance to do = [i.e. what we mean by saying what we said].

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3
Q

What are pragmatics?

A

The way words and sentences are used in everyday
situations; the meaning of language in context.

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4
Q

What 3 things do we use to analyse discourse?

A

Context (physical, personal, cognitive).
Structure (organisation - turn-taking, topic-shifting, overlapping).
Strategy (speakers’ use of interactive tactics - communication, politeness)

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5
Q

What’s the difference between semantics and pragmatics?

A

Semantics is direct speech regardless of context, pragmatics is indirect speech in context; what we say vs. what we mean.

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6
Q

What is pragmatic competence?

A

Saying the right thing at the right time.

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7
Q

What are Cutting’s (2015) 3 types of context?

A

Situational context
Background knowledge
Co-text

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8
Q

What is situational context?

A

What speakers know about an immediate situation, i.e. “My wife’s knees were swollen like this!” Demonstrative pronoun “this”; context is derived from physical cues of the immediate situation.

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9
Q

What is background knowledge?

A

What speakers know about each other and the world, i.e. in the Arran-hill-walking excerpt, both speakers share cultural background knowledge about the hill, that one could spend 8 hours there, and that it’s strenuous enough to swell knees.

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10
Q

What is co-text?

A

The language immediately surrounding the item in question which tells us its meaning. The relationship between the utterance and the ongoing discourse.

Arran Hill-Walking - The use of pronouns ‘us’ and ‘we’ assume that there’s been enough information shared to be able to infer who the speaker refers to.

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11
Q

According to Austin’s (1962) Speech Act Theory, what 3 things occur when we speak?

A

We “perform acts” by saying what we do. Three acts happen simultaneously when we speak; what we say, what we mean and what the effect is.

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12
Q

In Austin’s (1962) Speech Act Theory, what or where is the speech act expressed?

A

The illocutionary act - the real intent behind our utterance; what we intend for it to do.

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13
Q

What is the perlocutionary act/effect?

A

The illocutionary act has an effect. The perlocutionary act is the effect of what we said, either intended or unintended.

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14
Q

What are the 5 Speech Acts?

A

Representative (assertive)
Expressive
Commissive
Directive
Declaration

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15
Q

What is a representative (assertive)?

A

Expresses what they believe to be a true statement.

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16
Q

What is an expressive?

A

Expresses the psychological state of the speaker towards some state of affairs: “I love cooking.”

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17
Q

What is a commissive?

A

Commits the speaker to a future course of action: “I’ll finish the project.”

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18
Q

What is a declaration?

A

Bring about some change in the world; can also refer to changes in institutional states of affairs e.g. declaring war, christening, marrying etc: “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

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19
Q

What is a directive?

A

Attempts to get the hearer to do something: “Please come to my party!”

20
Q

For a Speech Act to be appropriately and successfully performed, what must happen?

A

Must satisfy Felicity Conditions.

21
Q

What are the Felicity Conditions?

A

All participants must:
1. recognise their roles
2. recognise their contexts
3. carry out the act completely
4. have the right intentions

22
Q

What are Grice’s Maxims?

A

Quality
Quantity
Relevance
Manner

23
Q

What is Grice’s Maxim of Quality?

A

The content is what you believe to be true / evidence-based.

24
Q

What is Grice’s Maxim of Quantity?

A

The content contains enough info to be informative.

25
Q

What is Grice’s Maxim of Relevance?

A

The content is relevant.

26
Q

What is Grice’s Maxim of Manner?

A

Content should be delivered as clearly and unambiguously
(and ideally as briefly!) as possible.

27
Q

What are Grice’s three ways of breaking his maxims?

A

Flouting
Violating
Infringing

28
Q

What is flouting? (The Cooperative Principle - Grice’s Maxims)

A

Purposefully breaking the maxim, encouraging the addressee to look for another meaning (which leads to conversational implicature).

29
Q

What is violating? (The Cooperative Principle - Grice’s Maxims)

A

Purposefully breaking the maxim, but knowing that the addressee will not realise.

30
Q

What is infringing? (The Cooperative Principle - Grice’s Maxims)

A

Unintentionally breaking the maxim.

31
Q

What is an implicature? (The Cooperative Principle - Grice’s Maxims)

A

Implicature is a special type of meaning created by speaker deliberately disobeying (‘flouting’) a Gricean maxim.
Speaker must know that listener will be aware of the ‘flouting’ & resulting implicature must not be too difficult to work out.

32
Q

What is conversational inference? (The Cooperative Principle - Grice’s Maxims)

A

Inference is the inferred meaning derived by the hearer, which may or may not match the intended implicature.

33
Q

Why is conversational implicature created?

A

Politeness strategy, rhetoric strategy or to be ‘let off the hook.’

34
Q

What is a Face Threatening Act (FTA)? (Brown & Levinson 1987)

A

An act, verbal or otherwise, which could undermine someone’s ‘face’.

35
Q

What is positive face? (Brown & Levinson 1987)

A

A speaker’s need to have their wants addressed and to be liked and socially included.

36
Q

What is negative face? (Brown & Levinson 1987)

A

A speaker’s need to be unimpinged and free.

37
Q

What is Brown & Levinson’s (1987) Politeness Theory?

A

It uses the concept of ‘face’ to explain politeness: people use certain linguistic strategies – politeness strategies – as a means of saving both our ‘face’ and that of others.

38
Q

How does discourse analysis differ from pragmatics?

A

Pragmatics analyses the meaning of individual utterances in context.

Discourse focuses on the structure of social interaction and the analysation of an organized set of utterances.

39
Q

What is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)?

A

Critical Discourse Analysis is an ideological approach that examines the purpose of language in the social context, concerned with the hidden norms and valuing underlying language.

40
Q

What is expliciture?

A

Specific information that is explicitly conveyed by an utterance or statement.

41
Q

What are the options in Brown & Levinson’s Politeness (face) Theory?

A

You can avoid the FTA by staying silent. You can go off-record and speak indirectly, hoping they pick up on your hint. Or you can ask directly, on-record.

You can use negative politeness, using pessimistic hesitation and apology to show appreciation of the other person’s time and effort. “I couldn’t borrow £30, could I?”

Or positive politeness, to appeal to their desire to be liked or accepted, demonstrating closeness and friendship. “Mary, sweetie, I’d really appreciate if you could show me that website.”

42
Q

What is positive impoliteness?

A

Positive impoliteness threatens positive face by refusing solidarity, designed to damage the addressee’s positive face wants. “You’re wrong; I don’t care about it.”

43
Q

What is being bald on-record mean?

A

The attack is intended to create the maximum possible face damage, e.g. “You’ve got a face like a bucket of smashed crabs.”

44
Q

What is negative politeness?

A

Negative politeness purposefully threatens negative face by imposing oneself upon another, or invading their space. “Come over here and say that to my face, you little dumbass.”

45
Q

What is off-record impoliteness?

A

Sarcasm, i.e. indirect impoliteness.

46
Q

Since politeness is a pragmatic phenomenon, it is influenced by elements of the context. What two situational context factors influence the way we make a request?

A

Size of imposition and formality of context are two situational context factors which cause more indirectness the larger they both are.

English Language (6 decks)

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