Pragmatics Flashcards
How you use words and where you use them
Using language appropriately in personal/social contexts
Pragmatics
What are the social conventions (2)?
US conversational rules
US conversational convententions
What are the three US conversational rules?
Openings
Turn taking
Closings/Preclosings
greetings/requests are examples of:
Openings
Waiting for turn-yielding signals (pause, gesture, pitch drop) or interrupting are examples of:
Turn taking
Preclosings are used so we don’t sound _____
abrupt
In conversation, we close in a _______ way.
Meaningful: excuse, promise of future contact, wishing well (take care)
What are the five US conversation conventions
eye contact personal space/distance indirect requests/statements appropriate emotional responses acknowledgement gestures
Personal assumptions are based on: (2 things)
Cooperative principle
Grice’s Maxims
What are the three meanings of an utterance in any conversation?
Locution - the literal meaning of the utterance
Illocution - the speaker’s intended effect
Perlocution - the effect on the listener
The cooperative principle assumes….
That speakers are… trying to be informative, and not trying to mislead us
They assume we follow Grice’s Maxims
the literal meaning of the utterance
locution
the speaker’s intended effect
illocution
the effect on the listener
perlocution
What are Grice’s four Maxims?
The maxim of quality
The maxim of quantity
The maxim of relevance
The maxim of manner
What is the maxim of quality?
Don’t say what you think is false, or what you don’t know
What is the maxim of quantity?
Just be as informative as needed for the current exchange (don’t say too little or too much)
What is the maxim of relevance?
Say only what is relevant for the current exchange
What is the maxim of manner?
Be brief, but avoid obscurity and ambiguity
What is non-literal language?
Often what we say is different from what we mean
Correct interpretation of literal vs. non-literal language usually relies on _______________.
personal context
Examples of non-literal speech:
irony/sarcasm understatement overstatement metaphor idioms slang
Indirect speech acts/requests are used to show _____
politeness
“Oh yeah, that’s a GREAT idea.” is an example of:
irony/sarcasm
