Dr. Katie Welch LING3311.001

   Heretofore, we have talked about the form of language But, this is only half the story. We must also consider the function of language. (i.e. How is it used? By whom? In what context?)

    The study of meaning in context ◦ ◦ ◦ Situational context Linguistic context Social context Utterances not sentences Felicity = appropriateness # sign if utterance is infelicitous

  ◦ Pointing via language “placeholder” words Here, there, 5 minutes, now, he, she, we

   Formulated by H.P. Grice What we say in a conversation furthers the purpose of the conversation Developed 5 conversational rules (or maxims) that regulate conversation

Quality ◦ Do not say what you believe to be false. Relevance ◦ Quantity ◦ ◦ ◦ Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. Be relevant.

Make your contribution as informative as is required.

◦ Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

Manner Avoid obscurity of expression. ◦ ◦ Avoid ambiguity. Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity) ◦ Be orderly.

  Purposefully breaking the maxims in order to create additional meaning Different than just breaking [violating] the maxims (lying, rambling, changing the subject)

  Entailment (when x is true, y is true, too) Implicature (idea communicated based on speakers’ knowledge of language use)

    ◦ Performing an act by using language Felicity conditions Perfomative verbs Direct/Indirect Speech Acts Direct uses a direct, literal utterance or a performative verb