Unit 4: Chap. 3 Riemer's

Question 1

Deictic

Answer 1

Expression whose interpretation always depends on reference to the personal, spatial,
or temporal context of the utterance. The referents of deictic expressions vary with the situation
in which they are used. Examples of deictic in English are this, here, there and now

Question 2

• Demonstrative: denotation, denotatum (plural: denotata)

Answer 2

A deictic pronoun or adjective like
English this or that (3.2.3)., The entire class of objects to which a linguistic expression correctly
refers (1.4.2; 3.3.2).

Question 3

Dictionary meaning

Answer 3

A word’s inherent, linguistic meaning (3.3)

Question 4

Distal:

Answer 4

\: A class of demonstratives, equivalent to that in English, which is used to refer to objects
not in the immediate vicinity of the deictic centre. Cf. proximal (3.2.3)

Question 5

Encyclopaedic meaning

Answer 5

Factual information about a word’s denotation

Question 6

Felicity conditions

Answer 6

The conditions under which performative utterances are appropriate (3.4.2).

Question 7

Illocutionary force:

Answer 7

In Austin’s theory of speech acts, the status of an utterance as a warning,
request, statement, etc. (3.4.1).

Question 8

Intentionality

Answer 8

: The property a thought has of being directed to, or about, something other than
itself (3.2).

Question 9

Locutionary act:

Answer 9

In Austin’s theory of speech acts, the act of expressing the basic, literal
meanings of the words chosen (3.4.1).

Question 10

Non-natural meaning (meaning NN)

Answer 10

Term introduced by Grice to describe the type of

intention-dependent meaning characteristic of human language (3.5).

Question 11

Ostensive-inferential communication

Answer 11

a symbolic stimulus which, combined with the context,

enables the hearer to infer their meaning (3.9).

Question 12

Pragmatics

Answer 12

The branch of linguistics which studies utterance meaning and the principles of
contextual language use (3.1)

Question 13

Predicative function

Answer 13

: When an expression has a predicative function, it is non-referring and its
role is to give information about an entity which has already been identified (3.2.2.2).

Question 14

Proximal

Answer 14

A class of demonstratives, equivalent to this in English, used to refer to objects in the
immediate vicinity of the deictic centre. Cf. distal (3.2.3).

Question 15

Reference

Answer 15

(i) The objects to which a expression refers. In this use it is a synonym of ‘referent’;
(ii) the act by which a speaker refers to a referent (3.2)

Question 16

Necessary conditions

Answer 16

a condition A is said to be necessary for a condition B, if (and only if) the
nonexistence of A guarantees the nonexistence of B. In general, a necessary condition is not a
sufficient condition. All sorts of conditions may be necessary for others, but do not –by
themselves- guarantee those others. E.g.: “Air” is a necessary condition for human beings, but
not a sufficient one because it is not enough for their existence.

Question 17

Sufficient conditions

Answer 17

a condition A is said to be sufficient for a condition B, if (and only if) the
occurrence of A guarantees the occurrence of B. It is always a set of conditions, not only one. If
all the conditions are satisfied, they are sufficient.

Question 18

Truth conditions

Answer 18

conditions that have to be accomplished to prove if something has true or
false value.