Unit 8

The use of English

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The use of English

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Review

• What do we mean by “ prototype ” ? Use an example to illustrate.

• How do you understand the following book title? Women, Fire and Dangerous Things (George Lakoff 1987)

Appreciate

• • • • 老音乐好听， 旧钞票会升值， 老朋友最能信任， 谁说旧的没有新的好？ - 胖仔物语 How is this ballad semantically interesting?

Major contents

9.1 Pragmatic approach to language 9.2 Deictic expressions 9.3 Speech act theory 9.4 Presupposition

9.1 Pragmatic approach to language

• Pragmatics is the study of meaning in use meaning in context speaker meaning contextual meaning Pragmatics studies communication (utterance production and comprehension) from a functional (i.e. social, cultural, cognitive) perspective.

Semantics vs pragmatics

Semanticism : semantics includes pragmatics Pragmaticism : pragmatics includes semantics Complementarism : semantics studies meaning in the abstract; pragmatics studies meaning in the context/use.

Mean and Say

• “ ‘ ‘ It wasn ’ t what he said, but what he meant.

’ ‘ Then you should say what you mean ’ , the March Hare went on.

‘ I do, Alice hastily replied; ‘ at least – what I say – that ’ at least I mean s the same thing, you know.

’ ‘ Not the same thing a bit ’ , said the Hatter. “ You might just as well say that ‘ I see what I eat ’ is the same thing as ‘ I eat what I see ’ !

” “ You might just as well say, I like what I get “ You might just as well say, ” that ‘ ’ is the same thing as ‘ I get what I like ’ !

” I breathe when I sleep when I breathe ’ !

” (Lewis Carroll: Alice

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’ ” added the March Hare, “ that added the Dormouse … is the same thing as ‘ I sleep s Adventures in Wonderland)

Literal meaning, utterance meaning, speaker meaning

I met him yesterday.

You

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re really friendly.

A: Do you like Harry and John?

B: I like Harry.

9.2 Deictic expressions （指示语）

• Deixis: (from Greek) anchoring, pointing (toward the context) phenomenon. – The linguistic means used in this function are known as deictics, indexicals( or indexical / deictic expressions).

– Examples: pronouns, demonstratives, time and place adverbs, and some grammatical categories such as tense.

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Characteristics in use

The egocentricity of deixis

Deictic expressions are anchored to specific points in the communicative event. The unmarked points deictic center, are typically assumed to be as follows(S. Levinson: , called the Pragmatics ): I love this game!

-the central person is the speaker -the central time is the time at which the speaker produces the utterance -the central place is the speaker ’ s location at utterance time -the discourse center is the point which the speaker is currently at in the production of his utterance -the social center is the speaker ’ s social status and rank, to which the status or rank of addressees or referents is relative

Discuss

• PP> 147-148 No. 2, 3

Deictic vs. Non-deictic

Deictic: gestural/symbolic • You, you, but not you, are dismissed. (gestural) • What did you say? (Symbolic) Non-deictic: anaphoric /non-anaphoric • • • • Jack is a student. He comes from Britain.

You can never tell what sex they are nowadays. There you go again./There we go.

I did this and that.

Classification of deixis

• • • • • Person deixis Place deixis Time deixis social deixis discourse deixis

9.3 Speech act theory

Saying is acting. (John Austin, How to Things with Words, 1962) Teacher: Class begins.

Boss: You are fired !

“ Speech acts ” refer to actions performed via utterances. Speech acts are “ the basic or minimal units of linguistic communication ” .

“ The unit of linguistic communication is not, as has generally been supposed, the symbol, word or sentence, … but rather the production of the symbol or word or sentence in the performance of the speech act ” — Searle

Constatives ( 表述句） and performatives （施为句） a. There is a book on the desk.

b. I promise I

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ll be there ten sharp tomorrow.

hereby-test: first person singular subject, simple present tense, indicative mood, active voice, performative verbs (with exceptions, though)

Collapse of Performative Hypothesis

a. Not all performative utterances require a performative verb; b. An utterance with a performative verb may not be the type of act suggested by the verb; e.g. A kidnapper: I advise you to give me all in your pocket.

Do the following count as promises? If not, why?

a. I promise I

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ll fail you in the exam.

b. I promise that next Friday will be his birthday.

c. I promise that I saw him yesterday.

d. I promise that you

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ll help me out of trouble.

e. He promises that he

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ll help me.

f. I promised that I would help him.

felicity conditions （适切条件）

a. Essential condition （基本条件） b. Preparatory condition ( 预备条件） c. Propositional content condition （命题内容条件） d. Sincerity condition （真诚条件）

Felicity conditions for a promise:

1) The speaker can do what is promised; ( 基本） 2 ） The promised act has not taken place yet; ( 预 备） 3 ） The utterance is about a future act; The promised act is to the benefit of the hearer; The promised act will be fulfilled by the speaker; （命题内容） 4) The speaker means what he says. （真诚） etc.

Practice

PP. 149-150 No. 5

Austin

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s classification

- locutionary act: what is said - illocutionary act: what is intended to do - perlocutionary act: what is to be effected • Leech: locutionary act performing an act of saying sth Illocutionary act Perlocutionary act performing an act in performing an act saying sth by saying sth

Practice: Analyze A ’ s remark in the following in terms of the three acts.

A: The phone is ringing. B: (Stands up and picks up the receiver) Hello.

Searle ’ s classification of illocutionary acts • Representatives/assertives （阐述类） : describe, inform, deny, state, claim, assert, remind, etc.

• Directives （指令类） : request, ask, urge, tell, demand, order, advise, command, beseech, etc.

• Commissives （承诺类） : commit, promise, threaten, pledge, consent, refuse, offer, guarantee, etc.

• Expressives （表达类） : apologize, boast, thank, deplore, welcome, congratulate, greet, etc.

• Declarations （宣告类） : declare, resign, appoint, nominate, bless, christen, name, etc.

Indirect speech acts

A direct performative act: I order you to leave the room.

P. 150 No. 6

How to perform speech acts?

• Different cultures, different realizations e.g.

Compliment-Compliment response e.g. A: Oh, what a beautiful handwriting!

B: No,no, not at all, you are joking.

Presentation session

• Complimenting and responding to compliments in English

9.4 Presupposition

• Presupposition and entailment • Presupposition triggers: linguistics device that make inference possible.

• PP> 151-152 No. 8, 9

Assignments

• • P. 155 No. 3 P. 156 No. 6, 7