语用学考试.doc

1. Pragmatics can be defined in various ways. A general definition is that it is the study of how speakers of a language use sentences to effect successful communication. As the process of communication is essentially a process of conveying meaning in a certain context, pragmatics can also be defined as the study of language in use. 2.Pragmatics vs. Semantics The essential distinguish between semantics and pragmatics is whether in the study of meaning the context of use is considered. If it is not considered, the study is restricted to the area of traditional semantics; if it is considered, the study is being carried out in the area of pragmatics.3. Being essential to pragmatics, context is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer. Therere two types of shared knowledge: the knowledge of the language they use, and the knowledge about the world, including the general knowledge about the world and the specific knowledge about the situation in which linguistic communication is taking place. Without such knowledge, linguistic communication would not be possible, and without considering such knowledge, linguistic communication cannot be satisfactorily accounted for in a pragmatic sense.4. Sentence is a grammatical concept, its meaning is often studied as the abstract, intrinsic property of the sentence itself in terms of a predication. Utterance is based on sentence meaning; it is the realization of the abstract meaning of a sentence in a real situation of communication, or simply in a context.5. Summary1) Language meaning can be analyzed at several levels.2) Semantics concentrates on the meaning that comes from linguistic knowledge, while pragmatics concentrates on those aspects of meaning that cannot be predicted by linguistic knowledge alone and takes into account our knowledge about the physical and social world.3) The focus of pragmatic analysis is on the meaning of speakers utterances rather than on the meaning of words or sentences.4) Utterances need not consist of complete sentences. Each utterance is a unique physical event created at a particular point in time for a particular communicative purpose.6. Entailment：a relationship between sentences that forms the basis for some of these inferences(推断).7. You would need other, non-。linguistic, information about Toms mother and the particular cat referred to here. These are sometimes labeled as Synthetic Sentence. Synthetically True/ False8.The term paraphrase is used in semantics when there is a relationship of mutual entailment between two sentences. 9.Summary:1) All sentences have a number of entailments, other sentences which are automatically true if the original sentence is true, then other sentences are the entailments of the original sentence. 2) Entailments are inferences that can be drawn solely from our knowledge about the semantic relationships in a language.3) This knowledge allow us to communicate much more than we actually say.10. Declarative sentences typically function as statement. Such as you ran away with you the Subject and ran the VerbIn imperative sentences, which typically function as commands, there is no subject present although it is understood as you as in Run away!Interrogative sentences typically function as questions. 11. Analyzing the relation of entailment1）If X is true, Y is necessarily true2) If X is false, Y may be true or false3) If Y is true, X may be true or false4) If Y is false, X is false12. For presupposition, the key point is that if X presupposes Y, Y is a presupposition of X1) If X is true, Y must be true 2) If X is false, Y is still true 3) If Y is true, X is either true or false 4) If Y is false, no truth value can be said about X13. Notice that possessives lead to a particularly strong Presupposition about the existence of the chocolate cake, and in addition lead to the presupposition that Annie has a chocolate cake. This basic type of presupposition is sometimes called an Existential Presupposition. Here regret in a) triggers the presupposition that what follows is a fact. This kind of presuppositions sometimes are called Factive presupposition./ Non-factive PresuppositionSome subjunctive constructions like if I were youare not only not untrue but even the opposite of the true, or contrary to the facts, they are usually called Counter-factual presuppositionActually, presuppositions triggered by any words can all be called Lexical Presuppositions while those triggered by any structures can all be called Structural Presuppositions.14. Summary:1. We have described presuppositions as inferences about what is assumed in an utterance rather than directly asserted.2. Presuppositions are closely linked to the words and grammatical structures that are actually used in the utterance and our knowledge about the way language users conventionally interpret them.3. Presuppositions can be drawn even when there is little or no surrounding context.15. A conversational implicature is, therefore, something which is implied in conversation, that is, something which is left implicit in actual language use. 16. As we see from the above example, a logical implication does not have to correspond to what in everyday life we understand by implies. In the above case, we would say that my nephews not cutting the hedge implied his not getting a dinner, just like his cutting implies his being taken out. However, logic and everyday life do not always look at things the same way. This is why we need another term: in addition to the logical implications, we will speak of conversational implicatures. 16. The Cooperative principleMake your conversational contribution such as required at the stage at which it occurs by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.1. The maxim of quantity Make your contribution as informative as required (for the current purpose of the exchange)2. The maxim of quality * Do not say what you believe to be false * Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence3. The maxim of relation * be relevant 4. The maxim of manner * Avoid obscurity of expression * Avoid ambiguity * Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity) * Be orderly17.violation rather than a flouting of the maxim/ openly failed 18. According to Grice, conversational implicatures can only be worked out on the basis of the CP. 1.Unlike presuppositions and entailments, implicatures are inferences that cannot be made from isolated utterances. They are dependent on the context of the utterance and shared knowledge between the speaker and the hearer.2. Grice has proposed a way of analyzing implicatures based on the co-operative principle and its maxims of relevance, quality, quantity and clarity.3. In Grices analysis, the speakers flouting of a maxim combined with the hearers assumption that the speaker has not really abandoned the co-operative principle leads to an implicature.19. Actually, all the imlicatures are based on the quantity of information offered by the speaker. Scalar Implicatures(级差含义)Generalized Conversational Implicautures (普遍性的会话含义) Particularized Conversational Implicatures (特定性的会话含义).Generalized implicatures can be drawn with very little inside knowledge among speaker and hearer. That is, If you heard a tape recording of the conversation but knew nothing about the participants or the physical characteristics of the context, you could still draw those implicatures. They are closely connected to the degree of informativeness that we normally expect a speakers utterance to provide.Scalar implicatures are a special type of generalized implicature where the inference is made by reference to a scale of values, one of which has been chosen by the speaker. The speakers choice implicates not the higher values. Particularized implicatures require not only general knowledge but also knowledge which is particular or local to the speaker and the hearer, and often to the physical context of the utterance as well.20. Both generalized and particularized implicatures differ from presuppositions in that they sound much less contradictory when they are cancelled by the speaker.21. Characteristics of implicature1. Calculability (可推导性)2.Cancellability (可取消性)3. Non-detachabilitySo A conversational implicature is not detachable, because saying the same thing in another way usually carries the same implicature.4. Non-conventionality (非常规性) So it is clear from the examples, entailment is part of the conventional meaning. Entailment is determinate. In contrast, implicature is indeterminate, which varies with the context. And this is sometimes seen as another 5. Indeterminacy (不确定性)A conversational implicature is indeterminate to varying degrees. In many cases, the list of possible implicatures of an utterance is open. 22. Speech act theory （简介）is the first major theory in the pragmatic study of language. It was originated with the British philosopher John L. Austin in the late 50s of the 20th century. 23. Performatives refer to sentences that do 。not state a fact or describe a state, and are not verifiable. Constatives vs PerformativesInstead of stating something, the speaker, when uttering these sentences, is actually doing something. In contrast, Constatives refer to statements that describe, and are thus verifiable.Maybe just because the problems i