Preview

pragmatics

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
9709 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
pragmatics
PROOF

Contents
Preface

vii

1

1
4
10
13

Introduction
1.1 Types of pragmatics
1.2 Pragmatics and linguistics
1.3 Structure of the book

2 Semantics and Pragmatics
2.1 The borderline
2.2 Sentences and utterances
2.3 Language and logic
2.4 Mood
2.5 The explicit and the implicit
2.6 Presupposition
2.7 Deixis

19
19
21
23
27
29
32
39

3

History of Pragmatics
3.1 Structuralism
3.2 Logical positivism
3.3 Ordinary language philosophy
3.4 The beginnings of pragmatics

44
44
47
49
52

4

‘Classical’ Pragmatics
4.1 Speech act theory
4.2 Implicature

56
57
68

5 Modern Pragmatics
5.1 Neo-Gricean pragmatics
5.2 Relevance theory
5.3 Semantic autonomy and pragmatic intrusion

89
90
102
117

6 Applications of Pragmatics
6.1 Politeness
6.2 Literature
6.3 Language acquisition
6.4 Clinical linguistics
6.5 Experimental pragmatics

131
132
141
149
157
164

7 Pragmatics and Language in Context
7.1 Conversation analysis
7.2 Discourse analysis

176
177
181 v PROOF vi CONTENTS

7.3 Sociolinguistics
7.4 Corpus linguistics

184
187

Glossary

191

Bibliography

197

Index

211

PROOF

Introduction

1

Some statements about pragmatics are easy to make and are not likely to prove too controversial. Pragmatics is one component of the study of human language, and can therefore be described as a branch of the academic discipline of linguistics. It has emerged relatively recently, certainly within the last half century, but is now an important and thriving area that continues to expand and develop. Concepts, theories and approaches developed within pragmatics are being used by those working in many other areas: both in other branches of linguistics, such as sociolinguistics, stylistics and psycholinguistics, and in different disciplines, such as artificial intelligence, clinical psychology and even law.
Once we get beyond such general statements, however, we

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Blade Runner Consumerism

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J.H., & Jackson, D.D. 1967, Some tentative axioms of communication. In Pragmatics of human communication: A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes (pp.48-71)…

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thomas, J. (1984) Cross-cultural discourse as “unequal encounter”: Toward a pragmatic analysis. In Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 226-235.…

    • 2185 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rhetoric Theory

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The rhetoric theory is discovering all possible ways of persuasion and we must understand that persuasion is different than manipulation. It also falls right in the middle of the interpretive and objective scale for theories.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pragmatics in Comedy

    • 2870 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Grice’s four maxims are, if not rules, but way of means to allow us to say things indirectly in order to avoid discomfort when saying uncomfortable things or to imply something without having to actually take a direct stand or viewpoint. By strictly following the maxims, the conversation in question is pretty straight forward and it is not hard to find the implicature. On the other hand, when one flouts one is more indirect and therefore generates an implicature.…

    • 2870 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Figurative Language

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the poem “Death of a Young Son by Drowning,” Margaret Atwood uses different uses of figurative language to explain the pain of losing a child. The speaker of the poem has recently lost a child to drowning. The pain of losing a child is uncomparable to anything in the world, and Margaret Atwood uses the title, tone, language and structure to describe the pain. The author uses different similes and metaphors to describe her son’s recent death. The title of the poem is essential as it sets the tone for the rest of the poem. Before the reader begins to read the poem they will read “Death of a Young Son by Drowning,” after reading that title they will then see the focus of the poem. The title shows that the poem to follow will be serious, sad,…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Syntax And Syntax

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are two views of reading that have been explored throughout the years, the learning view and the acquisition view. There are similarities between both views, including that syntax plays a role in reading, that previous knowledge is important, and that early reading skills like phonetic awareness are important as well. The differences between the views lies with the focus that each view takes on syntax, including the importance of syntax and how syntax is approached with reading instruction. Although the learning view places more importance on words while the acquisition view focuses on syntax, there are specific differences and likenesses between the two views.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    -Pragmatics= how we use lang to convey our intended meaning within a particular social context and how we figure out others' intended meanings…

    • 10440 Words
    • 42 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Figurative language

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Alliteration, assonance and consonance: Alliteration is the repetition of the first sound in nearby words, for example: Always avoid alliteration. Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds within, for example, words in the lines of a poem. Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the words. All three techniques can be combined:…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The English Language

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Everyone has a different interpretation of the word, “invention”. However the word is simply defined as; a new device, method of process developed from study and experimentation. An invention is just a mental fabrication; it’s a falsehood (Dictionary.com 2013).1 Although in the essays, “Why I write” by Joan Didion, “Life in a new Language” by Eva Hoffman, and “Basmati Rice: An Essay about Words” by Audrey Thomas, each author has their own view on the English language, how they each began inventing their own writing styles, and also their reasons for why they chose to become writers. These are the three things that make their definitions of invention very particular and their own.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Figurative Language

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Figurative language is used in poems, songs, books, short stories, and in everyday language. The use of similes and hyperboles are able to affect the tone, meaning and theme that better explain the meaning in stories and songs. Figurative language is meant to appeal to the senses in order to provide interest and evoke emotion in what is being read or heard. Alicia Keys, “This Girl Is On Fire”, is a great example of figurative language. The figurative language in this song provides a respectful and jovial tone, and it also demonstrates the theme of the capability of potential and societies urge to undermine the success of others.…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Figurative Language

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A well-written piece of literature makes you feel like you are really within the pages of the book. There are many ways for an author to achieve this and develop a “good” story.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Language Synthesis Essay

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Language and how we communicate is an intricate system, made up of rules and processes that ultimately affect the delivery of meaning amongst a group of people (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014, p. 32). This system can be broken down into five areas that are; phonology, lexis, orthography, semantic and syntax (Gardener, 2017a). Therefore, as this system's taught, the development of language should evolve (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014). The syntax is an important area of this complex system and comprises of how people make meaning of words and how they are used to produce an unlimited number of sentences (Fromkin & Hyams, 2012, p. 98). Sentences are formed using words, clauses and phrases and syntax assists with these sentences to have meaning and sound accurate…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Figurative language

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Figurative language is language that describes something by comparing it to something else. Figurative language goes beyond the literal meaning of words to describe or explain a subject. There are many types of figurative language, including similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, imagery, personification, and hyperbole.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    I would like to thank Deirdre Wilson for her continued support and invaluable guidance for my work in general and this paper in particular. I also wish to thank Jack Hawkins for encouraging me to come back to linguistics after “several” years away from the field. I am aware of the different meanings of the word “message” in the three disciplines of pragmatics, social psychology and marketing. I have endeavored to use “message” in a…

    • 11234 Words
    • 45 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Rhetorical Writing

    • 1555 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Learning how to write rhetorically is the key to writing a competent, persuasive essay. The main concept behind rhetoric is effectively predicting how an audience will connect with the main point of an argument. It is vital to approach an essay with the audience’s reaction in mind, because it forms the entire foundation of the work. Rhetorical appeal assists with the basic structure of the paper by allowing writers to assert a distinct voice within their writing. Once a writer has distinguished his or her voice and point of view, rhetorical appeal can be used as a tool in facilitating an opinion in a way that will genuinely resonate with the audience. A writer who knows how to efficiently use rhetorical appeal has a better chance of persuading the intended audience. This is because the appeals provide a method where credibility and value can be established without simply listing things off. It also influences a style within the writing that allows emotion to simmer within the reader. As I review my graduation paper I wrote in high school, I am now aware that I did most of the things someone who understands rhetorical appeal would not do. I am pained by this fact not only because I know my final argument would have been more persuasive, but also because the process could have been simpler and more organized. Understanding rhetorical appeal would have aided me with a specific way of thinking and more importantly made my argument about early child hood education exceptionally persuasive.…

    • 1555 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics