PRAGMATICS

The studies of Aspects of meaning that depend on context & communicative intentions of
speakers. (What speakers mean by their utterances in a context more than the linguistic content)
Pragmatics is the study of “invisible” meaning, the shared assumptions & expectations
that speakers share.
CONTEXT
We interpret words (text) in a specific situation (context) with pre-existing assumptions
about a message. Meaning is not in words alone, but in what we think writers intend to
communicate in that context. What we bring to our interpretation in a specific context.

Both types of context play a role in how we make sense of any text:
The physical context: is the location “out there” where we encounter words and phrases
(the word bank on the wall is interpreted as a financial institution.)
The linguistic context: interpretation of the surrounding words (co-text) that helps you
understand what is meant “an overgrown steep bank.”

DEIXIS
We deal with them in pragmatics since they can’t be interpreted accurately unless they are put
in a context
Words in language that can’t be interpreted without context. (Here, there, this, that, now,
then, yesterday, tomorrow, and pronouns such as you, me, she, him) “You’ll have to bring it
back tomorrow because she isn’t here today” is really vague when it’s out of context, we
don’t know who is speaking, about whom, where and when.

These are deictic expressions: used to point to People (us, them, those idiots), places
(here, over there), times (now, last week). They are interpreted in terms of which person,
place, or time the speaker has in mind.

REFERENCE
Words themselves don’t refer to people, places, and times. People refer. Reference is the act
by which a speaker uses language to enable a listener to identify something.
(we use nouns (Jennifer), other nouns (my friend) or pronouns (he, it) which don’t indentify
something uniquely but have a range of references to perform reference.)

INFERENCE
The listener ability to recognize what the speaker means.

Inference is the Additional information used by the listener to appropriately interpret

what is meant by the speaker. To create a connection between what is said and what
must be meant. (Listener operates with inference) (The spinach salad is sitting by the door; can I
look at your Chomsky? She is wearing Calvin Klein) nouns associated with things (salad) to refer to
people, and names of people (Chomsky, Klein) to refer to things.
 ANAPHORA
(Subsequent reference to an already introduced/aforementioned entity)

We make a distinction between how we introduce referents (puppy) ‘antecedents’ and how we
refer back to them (the puppy, it) ‘anaphoric expression.’

The second (subsequent) referring expression is an example of anaphora (referring back). (The
puppy, the boy, he, it) are anaphoric expressions. The first mention is called the antecedent (A boy,
a puppy, a small bath).

 The antecedent always has to be known, defined.

 The anaphoric expression always references to something (context).
The little dog ran away. The little dog is unknown which dog exactly, this is anaphoric expression
because it is referencing to something.

The connection between an antecedent and anaphoric expression is created through a

pronoun (it) or (the) + the antecedent noun (the puppy) or another noun related to the
antecedent (the little dog) which is an anaphoric expression.

 The connection between antecedents and anaphoric expressions is based on

inference.
 The antecedent can be a verb: the victim was shot twice, but the gun was never
recovered. (The inference that the reader/listener makes here is that any shooting
must involve a gun.)

CATAPHORA
A pattern which reverses the antecedent-anaphora relationship by beginning with a
pronoun (it), then later revealing specific information. In CATAPHORA it is reversed, we
start with anaphoric expression antecedent.

It suddenly appeared before me, staring in my direction. A grizzly bear was checking me out.
The grizzly bear is the antecedent, and ‘it’ is anaphoric expression.

PRESUPPOSITION
The assumption made by the speaker. What a speaker assumes is known by a listener.

When using Referring expressions like (this, here or Jennifer), we assume our listener can
recognize which referent is intended. We design our linguistic message based on
assumptions about what our listeners already know.

“Hey, your bother is looking for you.” this has the presupposition that I have a brother.
“When did you stop smoking?” here there are 2 presuppositions involved: you used to
smoke & you no longer do so.
There is a test for identifying presuppositions called “constancy under negation” that
involves comparing a sentence with its negative version and indentifying which
presuppositions remain true in both. (My car is a wreck/ my car is not a wreck) the
underlying presupposition (I have a car) remains the same. "When did you stop smoking?" and
"When did you not stop smoking?” you were smoking at some point in the past remains true.

PRAGMATIC MARKERS
(for meaning to be accurately interpreted)
Speakers have a way of indicating how their utterances are to be interpreted by loosely
attaching short forms to their utterances such as (you know, well, I mean, I don’t know).
These are pragmatic markers used to mark a speaker’s attitude to the listener.

You know indicates knowledge is shared, I mean self-correct/clarify something, well make a
shift from conveying information to commenting on it, I don’t know pragmatic marker of
hesitation/uncertainty, or disagreement with another speaker in an unchallenging polite way.
“I don’t know I didn’t really enjoy it.”
POLITENESS
This concept of FACE (politeness) is your public self-image, positive social value that a
person claims for themselves in a given interaction and a FTA is an utterance that
challenges or undermines that positive value.

 Polite expression: face saving acts.

 Impolite expression: face threatening acts. To say something that represents a
threat to another person’s self-image.
Using command ‘give me the paper!’ is acting as if you have more power, you are performing a
face threatening act. An indirect request ‘could you pass me that paper?’ removes the
assumption of social power, making it a face-saving act that lessens the possible threat to
another’s face.
NEGATIVE & POSITIVE FACE
Politeness theory works on the assumption that we have two different types of 'face'
Positive face is the need to be connected and belong to a group, individual's desire to be
liked and appreciated by others.
Negative face is the need to be independent and free from imposition. ( Have a freedom of action
and not to be imposed by others.)

A face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s negative face will show concern about imposition (sorry
to bother, I know you’re busy but) a face –saving act that emphasizes a person’s positive face will
show solidarity and draw attention to common goal. (The same thing happened to me, let’s do this
together)

Appropriate language that marks politeness differs substantially from one culture to the
next. Some cultures have directness, some are oriented to indirectness. Distinction between
direct and indirect ways of communicating can be analyzed in speech acts.

SPEECH ACTS
 A speech act describes an action that involves language such as ‘requesting,
commanding, questioning, and informing.’
 The action performed by a speaker with an utterance. (I’ll be there at six is not just
an utterance, you are performing the speech act of promising.)
To understand how utterances are used to perform actions we need to visualize the
relationship between the structure of an utterance and its function.

DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH ACTS

When an interrogative structure such as (did you…? is she…? Can you…?) Is used if we
really don’t know something and we ask for the information, we normally use direct speech
act.
When we use an interrogative structure to make a request, (can you pass the salt?) this is
an example of an indirect speech act.

Whenever a structure in table above, is used to perform a function other than the one
listed beside it, the result is an indirect speech act. (Declarative ‘you left the door open’ can
be used to make a request to the person who just came in to close it.)

Indirect speech is good evidence of the pragmatic principles, communication not only depends on
recognizing the structure and meaning of words in an utterance, but also what speakers mean by their
utterances in a particular context.

Exercices:
Did you eat the pizza? Speech act is questioning. (Direct speech act)
Can he eat some pizza? Asking for permission or request. This isn’t asking about ability.
(Indirect speech act.)
What are anaphoric expressions?
Dr foster gave Sam some medicine after he told her about his headaches and she
advised him to take pills three times a day until the pain went away.
He her his she him
Medicine pain pills
What is the term for the phrase ‘an old car’ in its relation with ‘it’?
‘I have an old car, but it runs great’
An old car: antecedent
It: anaphoric expression
Deixis expressions:
We went there last summer
I’am busy now so you can’t stay here, comeback later.

False, because deixis expression have others then time and space and person only.
Language can be used to make people perform different actions. True. In pragmatics,
language is often studied in terms of its ability to perform different actions beyond just
conveying information. Speech acts, such as making requests, giving commands, asking
questions.
Last one is false, because the question answer with yes or no, it does not provide information.