语言学笔记The Use of English.doc

The Use of English 8.1 Pragmatic Approach to Language8.1.1Pragmatics（语用学） It 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.8.1.2 Semantics(语义学) V.S PragmaticsSemanticism: semantics includes pragmaticsPragmaticism: pragmatics includes semanticsComplementarism: semantics studies meaning in the abstract; pragmatics studies meaning in the context/use.8.2 Deictic Expressions （指示语）8.2.1DeixisDeixis: (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.8.2.2 Characteristics in useThe egocentricity of deixis Deictic expressions are anchored to specific points in the communicative event. The unmarked points, called the deictic center, are typically assumed to be as follows (S. Levinson: Pragmatics): I love this game!1) the central person is the speaker2) the central time is the time at which the speaker produces the utterance3) the central place is the speakers location at utterance time4) the discourse center is the point which the speaker is currently at in the production of his utterance5) the social center is the speakers social status and rank, to which the status or rank of addressees or referents is relative.8.2.3 Deictic VS. Non-deicticDeictic: gestural/symbolicYou, you, but not you, are dismissed. (gestural)What did you say? (Symbolic)Non-deictic: anaphoric /non-anaphoricJack 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.8.2.4 Classification of deicticPerson deixisPlace deixisTime deixisSocial deixisDiscourse deixis8.3 Speech Act TheorySaying is acting. (John Austin, How to Do Things with Words, 1962)“Speech acts” refer to actions performed via utterances. Speech acts are “the basic or minimal units of linguistic communication”.8.3.1 Constatives (表述句） and performatives （施为句）a. There is a book on the desk.b. I promise Ill be there ten sharp tomorrow.hereby-test: first person singular subject, simple present tense, indicative mood, active voice, performative verbs (with exceptions, though)8.3.3 Collapse of Performative Hypothesisa. 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;8.3.4 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. Searles classification of illocutionary actsRepresentatives/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.8.4 Presupposition8.4.1Presupposition and entailment8.4.2Presupposition triggers: linguistics device that make inference possible.9.1 Cooperation in using English9.1.1Cooperative PrincipleMake your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged. H. P. Grice, Logic and Conversation, 19759.1.2Maxims of the principleQuality: Be truthful.a. Do not say what you believe to be false.b. Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. Quantity: Be informative.a. Make your contribution as informative as required (for the current purposes of the exchange)b. Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.Relation: Be relevant.Make sure that whatever you say is relevant to the conversation at hand.Manner: Be perspicuous (明晰).a. Avoid obscurity of expression.b. Avoid ambiguity.c. Be brief(avoid unnecessary prolixity)d. Be orderly.9.1.3 ImplicatureIt is a kind of extra meaning that is not contained in the utterance. When any of the maxims is blatantly(公然地) violated and the hearer knows that it is being violated, a particular conversational implicature arises.9.1.4 Some properties of conversational implicatureA. It can be cancelled, either by an explicit declaration that the speaker is opting out or, implicitly, by the co-text and context. (cancellability可取消性)B. It can be inferred (calculability可推导性)Ways to calculate an implicature:a.The conventional meaning of the words used, and the references of referring expressions;b.the cooperative principle and its maxims;c.the co-text and context;d.background knowledge;e.the supposition that all participants suppose that all relevant items falling under (1)-(4) are available to them all.1 Since I have good reason to believe that she has information about Xs writing skills, the speaker has deliberately failed to observe (flouted) the maxim “Be informative”2 But I have no reason to believe that she has really opted out of the cooperative principle. So, she is only being apparently uninformative.3 If I draw the inference that X hasnt got very good writing skills, then the speaker is being cooperative. She knows that I am capable of working this out.4 Therefore, she has implied (or “implicated” to use Grices term) that the students writing skills are not very good.C.It may be indeterminate:in many cases,the list of possible implicatures of an utterance is open.(indeterminacy不确定性)D.Non-detachability given the same proposition9.2 Politeness in using English9.2.1Leechs Politeness Principle Minimize (other things being equal) the expression of impolite beliefs andMaximize (other things being equal) the expression of polite beliefs.9.2.2The 6 maxims of Leechs PPTact MaximMinimize cost to otherMaximize benefit to otherGenerosity MaximMinimize benefit to selfMaximize cost to selfApprobation MaximMinimize dispraise of otherMaximize praise of otherMaxim of modestyMinimize praise of selfMaximize dispraise of selfAgreement MaximMinimize disagreement between self and otherMaximize agreement between self and otherSympathy MaximMinimize antipathy between self and otherMaximize sympathy between self and other9.2.3Politeness scale: Directness Cost - benefit9.3 Face considerations in using EnglishFace, the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself, consisting in two related aspects:Negative face and positive faceAccording to Brown and Levinson (1978/1987)Negative face: the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction i.e. to the freedom of action and freedom from imposition.Positive face: the positive consistent self-image or personality (crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants.9.4 Developing pragmatic competenceThe Varieties of English10.1 Interrelation between language and societyIndications of interralation/relatedness between language and societyAn obvious indication of the inter-relationship between language and society is the fact that language is not always used to exchange information as is generally assumed, but rather it is sometimes used to fulfil an important social function- to maintain social relationship between people.Another indication is that users of the same language in a sense all speak differently. The kind of language each of them chooses to use is in partdetermined by his social background. When we speak we cannot avoid giving our listeners clues about our origin and our background.Chomsky (cognitive approach, ideal speaker) vs. Saussure (social semiotic approach)Any use of language is socially marked/stamped. As society changes, language will change. Language reflects society, as shown by the lexicon of snow, camel. Whereas English, for example, has only one word for snow ( or two if we include sleet), Eskimo has several. The reasons for this are obvious. It is essential for Eskimos to be able to distinguish efficiently between different types of snow. English, of course, is quite able to make the same distinctions: fine snow, dry snow, soft snow, and so on, but in Eskimos this sort of distinction is lexicalized-made by means of individual words.10.1.2 Approaches to the study of the interrelation Macro-sociolinguistics: a birds-eye view: how language functions in society and how language reflects the social differentiations. sociology of language Micro-sociolinguistics: a worms-eye view: how language functions in the communication between members of the society. sociolinguistics It is an obvious fact that people who claim to be users of the same language do not speak the language in the same manner. For example all the English speaking people do not speak the same type of English. And the language used by the same individual varies as circumstances vary.10.2 Regional dialects of English10.2.1 Language and dialectLanguage: writing system; may include several dialects; often politically definedDialect: traditionally only variation with space, but now with the space, the temporal factor and social factors usu. spoken; often part of a language; not distinct enough from other dialects of the same language to be treated as an independent language; often marked by geographical or social barriers; restricted purposesChinese vs. CantoneseRegional dialect often coincides with geographical barriers, like mountains, rivers, etc. accent Transition from one dialect to another is gradual rather than abrupt. Two neighboring dialects are often intelligible.10.2.2 Temporal dialectLanguage is also determined by the time we live in. temporal distance Old English; Middle English; Modern English diachronic/historical linguistics vs. synchronic linguistics10.3 Social dialects of English 10.3.1Social dialect (also social-class dialect, sociolect, class dialect) social distance arises from the separation brought about different social conditions. It refers to the linguistic variety characteristic of a particular social class.10.3.2 Social factorsSocial factors that are believed to influence our language behavior: class, gender, age, ethnic identity, education background, occupation, and religious belief.10.4 Register theory10.4.1Field of discourse: related to what is going on, the purpose and the subject matter of communication; answers the questions of why and about what communication takes place. Technical: linguistic lectures, specialist communication vocabularyNon-technical: shopping, chatting10.4.2Tenor of discourse: answers the question of to whom the speaker is communicating, determines the level of formality of language use.10.4.3Mode of discourse: answers the question of how communication takes place ; spoken or written; spontaneous or non-spontaneous.11.1 Speech communitySpeech Community is a concept in sociolinguistics, it is a group of speakers who share the same regularities of language use, and have the same language attitude toward communitiy language variation. Virtual SC, migrant worker SC, urban SC, rural SC, international student SC, etc.Five elements of a SC: population, region, public facilities, interaction, identity.11.2 Pidgin and CreolePidgins(洋泾浜) are mixed or blended languages used by people who speak different languages for re