Any linguistic form used to ‘point’ is a deictic expression.. In deixis the speaker constitutes the deictic centre, and there are ‘near speaker’ or proximal terms ‘this’, ‘here’, ‘now’
Trang 1MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
QUY NHON UNIVERSITY
~~~~~~~~~~
ASSIGNMENT
PRAGMATICS
Performed by: NGUYEN THI MI PHA
Trang 2
CHAPTER ONE: DEIXIS AND REFERENCE
I Deixis.
1 Definition.
Deixis (from Greek) means ‘pointing’ via language Any linguistic form used to
‘point’ is a deictic expression Deictic expressions are also called indexicals.
In deixis the speaker constitutes the deictic centre, and there are ‘near speaker’
or proximal terms (‘this’, ‘here’, ‘now’), and ‘away from speaker’ or distal terms
(‘that’, ‘there’, ‘then’) Note that deixis is used differently in different languages.
Examples
Person
deixis
Used toindicatepeople
I, you, we (includingthe addressee), me,
us (including the addressee),
He, she, it, we (excluding the addressee), her, him, them, us (excluding the addressee),…
1 I am hungry
“I”: personal, proximal deixis
- Here, this…
- Some verbs of motion have a deictic sense, such as: come or bring…
- There, that…
- Some verbs of motion have a deictic sense, such as: go or take…
1 this is my pen
“this”: spatial, proximal deixis
2 I was there yesterday
“there”: spatial, distal deixis
Other forms ‘left, ‘right’,
‘up’ ‘down’, ‘below’,
‘behind’ …
Temporal
deixis
Used toindicatetime
- now, soon, today, tonight, tomorrow, before, the coming / next/ following week/ day/ month…,this Thursday…
- tenses: present tenses, future tenses
- then (express the future time)
- then, in days gone by, after, yesterday, last week/ month…, the previous days/
moth…
- the past tenses
1 I live here now
“live” (the present simple tense) and “now”:temporal, proximal deixis
2 I went there yesterday
”went” (the past simple tense) and
“yesterday”: temporal, distal deixis
Trang 3* Note that the interpretation of deixis depends on the context, the speakers
intention and expression of relative distance.
II Reference.
1 Definition.
Reference is an act in which a speaker, or writer, uses linguistic forms to
enable a listener, or reader, to identify something.
Those linguistic forms are referring expressions, which can be proper nouns
(Shakespeare, Japan), noun phrases (the author, a beautiful place), or a pronoun (he, it, them) Successful reference means that an intention was recognized, via
inference, indicating a kind of shared knowledge between the speaker and the
hearer, and hence social connection
2 Referential and attributive uses.
Referential use: referring expressions have identifiable physical referents.
e.g There’s a woman waiting for you
Attributive use: an expression which does not have an identifiable physical referent but means whoever/whatever that fits the description.
e.g He wants to marry a woman with a lot of money
3 Names and referents.
A truly pragmatic view of reference allows us to see how a person can be identified via a common noun and a thing can be identified via a proper noun (Between two students)
Can I borrow your Shakespeare? - Yeah, it’s over there on the table
(Proper noun) (Between two waiters in a restaurant)
Where’s the cheese sandwich sitting? - He’s over there by the window
(common noun)
4 The role of co-text
Context is the physical environment, which has a powerful impact on how
referring expressions are to be interpreted
Co-text is a linguistic part of the environment in which a referring
expression is used The co-text clearly limits the range of possible interpretations
we might have for a referring expression because it actually provides a number of possible referents
Trang 4a Ngày ngày mặt trời đi qua trên lăng.
b Thấy một mặt trời trong lăng rất đỏ.
5 Anaphoric reference
Anaphoric
is a second or subsequent reference to an already introduced referent
I hate saying this but the cake is
Drop the slices into hot oil
Cook (Ø) for 3 minutes.
III Exercise
* Conversation.
Minh: Yes, I am I have an appointment at 10.30 this morning, but I’m scared (5)
Minh: I hate the sound of the drill It’s so loud. (7)
Hoa: I understand how you feel, but don’t worry Last week, the dentist (8)
Hoa: I was a little scared, but the dentist was kind She looked at my teeth (11)
and told me not to worry Then she filled it It stopped hurting afterwards (12)
[….]
( English text book, grade 7, unit 10, page 103)
Trang 5This morning: 5
Distal It: 7, 12She: 11, 12, 13 Going: 4This: 5 Were: 10; was: 11Filled: 9; looked: 11; told, stopped: 12; felt: 13
Antecedent Anaphor It: (12) is the
Trang 6CHAPTER TWO: PRESUPPOSITION
I Definition.
A presupposition is what the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an
utterance Speakers, not sentences, have presupposition.
II. Types of presupposition.
Type Definition Triggers/ signals Example
Existential
Is not only assumed to be present in possessive constructions but more generally in any definite noun phrases
Proper nouns, possessives, definite noun phrases, …
- My sister >> I have a sister
- cô nhân viên trẻ >> có tồn tại một cô nhân viên
Factive
Is the information following verbs or verb
phrases like know,
realize… this information
is treated as a fact
Know, realize, regret, be aware/ odd/ glad/ happy/
pleased, remember, recognize,
- I am glad that it’s over
>> it’s over
- ông không thấy cô ấy đang giận à! >> cô ấy giận là có thật
Non –
factive
Is one that is assumed not
to be true It follows verbs
such as dream, imagine…
Dream, imagine, pretend,think, believe, guess, suppose, seem, bet, sound, perhaps, it’s possible, be likely…
- he pretends to be ill >>
he is not ill
- đêm qua em mơ gặp Bác Hồ >> gặp Bác là không có thật
Lexical
Is contained in the word itself one meaning of the word is asserted, whereas another meaning is understood
State verbs: arrive, stop, begin, take, have,…
Expressive of repetition, again, any more, still, now, manage, stop, start,
Wh – question, used to,
no longer, any longer, superlative, cleft construction…
- when did he leave? >>
he left
- mày đã mua những gì với số tiền đã ăn cắp được? >> mày đã ăn cắp tiền
Counter –
factual
presupposes that the information is not only nottrue but the opposite of what’s true or ‘contrary to facts’
If only, as if, as though, would rather, second or third conditional sentences, wish (3 types)
- if you were my friend, you would have helped
me >> you are not my friend
- nếu mày cao thì mặt trời mọc đằng tây >> mày không cao
Trang 7III EXERCISE
* Conversation.
Aurelia: Who’s that boy over there, Hannah? (1)
Hannah: That? Er, that’s my brother, Jam. (2)
Hannah: Yes, and that’s his girlfriend Lucy The pretty girl with the long, (4)
Aurelia: Oh right So, you’ve got a brother? (6)
Hannah: No, I’ve got two brothers Jam and Alex. (7)
Aurelia: Really? and how old is Alex? (8)
Hannah: Alex and Jam are twins, they’re both 15. (9)
Aurelia: 15, mmm and does Alex look like Jam? (10)
Hannah: They’re exactly the same! They’re both tall and thin (11) They’ve both got short brown hair, green eyes and big ears! (12)
Aurelia: They’re not big, I think they’re cute And has Alex got (13)
( Learnenglishteens.britishcouncil )
presupposition
1 Who’s that boyover there,
Hannah? - - there is a boy.there is a person named Hannah
- the boy is not near the speaker and hearer
Existential Lexical
2 That’s my brother, Jam The speaker has a brother named Jam Existential
4 That’s his girlfriend Lucy - The boy has a girlfriend
- There is a girl named Lucy Existential
4, 5 The pretty girl with the
long, brown hair - there is a girl.- the girl has long brown hair Existential Lexical
8 How old is Alex? There is a person named Alex Existential
9 Alex and Jam are twins,
Trang 8CHAPTER THREE: HEDGES AND IMPLICATURES
1 Definition
Hedges are expressions which do not add any false or truth values to the content of an utterance They are also attitude markers that can be taken as an indication of speakers’ sensitivity towards the hearer.
+ Do not make your information more informative than is required
As you probably know…;
I won’t bore you with all the details, but …; to cut a long story short, ;
- As you probably know, I am terrified ofbugs
- nói nữa thì các em lại bảo “biết rồi khổ lắm, nói mãi”, nhưng các em cần phải nỗ lực học tập hơn nữa
As far as I know,…; I may
be mistaken, but …; I’m not sure if this is right, but…; …., I guess It is said that…
- As far as I know, they’re married
- Nếu tôi không lầm thì chị Hương đã lấy chồng từ năm ngoái
Relation Be relevant
I don’t know if this is important, but….; This may sound like a dumb question, but …; Not to change the subject, but…
- This may sound like
a dumb question, but whose hand writing is it?
- Tôi muốn nói thêm
là chương trình sẽ bắt đầu lúc 7h30 nên mọi người lưu ý đến sớm hơn 30 phút
Manner
Be perspicuous+ Avoid obscurity of expression
+ Avoid ambiguity
+ Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity)
+ Be orderly
This may be a bit confused, but…; I’m not sure if this make sense, but…; I don’t know if this
is clear at all, but…
- I’m not sure if this makes sense, but the car has no lights
- Tôi hỏi thật, anh có đánh cô ấy không?
II Implicatures
Trang 9Examples Explanation
(1) I was sitting in a garden one day A child
looked over the fence. The garden and the child mentioned are notthe speaker’s
(2) Some of the boys went to the party The word “some” implicates: “ not all/ not
most/ not many”
(3) A wants to be nicer and friendlier, he smiles
to B and says hello politely A dog comes and
stands beside him Then A asks B:]
A : Does your dog bite?
B : No
A : (bends down to stroke it and gets bitten) Ow!
You said your dog does not bite!
B : That is not my dog.
B actually knows that A is talking about the dog which is beside B and not B’s dog at home, yet B intentionally does not give A enough information, for reasons best known
to A herself
(4) A : How much did that new dress cost, darling?
B : (see the tag-50 pounds, but says…)
Thirty-five pounds
(B) violates the maxim of quality by giving him the wrong information “thirty-five pounds” instead of “fifty pounds”
(5) A: Hey, coming to the wild party tonight?
B: My parent’s are visiting
Instead of saying “NO”, B says “My parent’s are visiting” which seems not relevant to the question However, in this situation, he means that he can’t come
(6) Ann: Where are you going with the dog?
Sam: To the V- E- T
To avoid letting the dog know the word
“vet” _the place he hates being taken to Samspells out (less brief)
(8) a Mary suggested black, but I chose white.
b Even John came to the party.
c Dennis isn’t here yet.
d Yesterday, Mary was happy and ready to work
e She put on her clothes and left the house.
“but” +> contrast
“even” +> contrary to expectation
“yet” +> different, or perhaps the opposite, at a later time
“and” +> in addition/plus
“and” +> and then (sequence)
III EXERCISE
Trang 101. Conversation 1.
Ken: You know, I’ve always wanted to have my fortune told. (1)
Lisa: Really? Do you know where you can get it done? (2)
Ken: I’m not sure But maybe there are some fortune tellers listed in (3) the phone book Let’s take a look (4) [….]
(New Interchange 3, student’s and workbook, p 54)
2 Conversation 2
Rose: [Phone rings] Rose Rizo. (1)
Jack: Hi, Rose This is Jack. (2)
Rose: Oh, hello How are you? (3)
Jack: Pretty good, thanks Listen, the reason I’m calling is I have a really big (4)
Jack: Remember I told you about that friend of mine who’s getting married (7)
to a woman he met in Barcelona? (8)
Rose: Yeah, I remember And? (9) […]
Jack: Oh, Ok I understand Anyway, how are things? (10)
I haven’t seen you for ages (11)
(New Interchange 3, student’s and workbook, p 243)
3. Conversation 3 (Miles and Maya are talking and flirting, Maya is showing interest in Miles’ book)
Maya: So what’s your novel about? (1)
Miles: Well, it’s difficult to summarize It starts as a kind of first person (2)
account of a guy taking care of his father after a stroke It’s kind of (3) based on personal experience, but only loosely (4)
Maya: So is it kind of about death and mortality, or ? (5)
Miles: Uh, yeah not really. (6)
(Sideways, 2004)
4 Conversation 4 (Fred is not satisfied with Jamal’s speech and he is asking
Cameron to re-shoot the scene)
Fred: This is gonna sound strange, but is Jamal seeing a speech coach or (1)
Cameron: What do you mean? (3)
Fred: Have you noticed, uh This is weird for a white guy to say, (4)
but have you noticed he’s talking a lot less black lately? (5)
Trang 114 Line 1
Line 4, 5
- This is gonna sound strange, but….
- This is weird for a white guy to say, but….
Manner Manner
Trang 12CHAPTER FOUR:
CONVERSATION AND PREFERENCE STRUCTURE
I Adjacency pair
1 Definition
Adjacency pair is a sequence of two utterances by different speakers in
conversation The second is a respond to the first.
e.g A: what’s the matter with you?
B: I’ve got a cough.
2 Characteristics
- The two parts are contiguous and are uttered by different speakers
- The two parts are ordered
- The first and second parts must be appropriately matched to avoid add exchanges
II Dispreferred second part
1. Definition.
Preference structure: a pattern in which one type of utterance will be more
typically found in response to another in a conversation It divides second parts into preferred and dispreferred social acts
Preferred: the structurally expected next utterance used in a response
Dispreferred: the structurally unexpected next utterance as a response.
2. Taxonomy
First part Second part dispreferred
Request RejectionOffer RefusalInvitation RefusalAssessment DisagreementQuestion Unexpected answerBlame Admittance
Complaint Disagreement Proposal Disagreement
e g A: Want to go to a movie tonight?
B: I can't Sorry I‘ve got to study.
3. Strategies for doing a dispreferred
How to do a dispreferred Example
Trang 13hedge the negative
that’s great; I’d love to I’m sorry; what a pity
I must do X; I’m expected in Y you see; you know
everybody else; out there too much work; no time left really; mostly; sort of; kinda
I guess not; not possible
* Notes:
- “Disprefered” shows remoteness, distance, or lack of connection
- “Dispreferred” needs more time (for hesitation, apology, …) and language.
III EXERCISE
Conversation 1.
Tour guide: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to (1) this fantastic tour of London by bus My name’s Greg and I’m your guide (2) this afternoon on our tour of London […] (3)
Tourist 1: I have a question. (4)
Tourist 1: Do you have extra umbrellas? I mean, if it rains a lot. (6)
Tour guide: Err, no, we don’t have any extra umbrellas, but don’t worry, (7) I’m sure the rain will stop soon Right, OK, so where are we going on our (8) wonderful tour? Well, the tour takes two hours and we are going to visit (9) all the famous sites […] Then we’ll see Tower Bridge and (10)
the famous Tower of London before arriving at Buckingham Palace, (11) just in time for a cup of tea with the Queen (12)
Tourist 2: Is that included in the tour? A cup of tea with the Queen? (13)
Tour guide: Err, well, no, not exactly, but there’s a lovely café near the palace (14)
where you can get a cup of tea (Sound of a storm right overhead, loud thunder (15)
Tourist 1: I have another question. (17)