Pragmatics the study of speaker meaning and how more is communicated than is said.
Pragmatics examines how we understand what is meant even when it isn't explicitly said, often relying on shared knowledge or assumptions.
To understand meaning, we rely on context and prior knowledge, not just word definitions. For example, "Children Sale" actually means selling children's clothes, even if "clothes" isn’t mentioned.
There are two types of context:
Physical context: The situation, time or place in which words are used (e.g., If you see "Apple Sale" in an electronics store, it likely means there's a sale on Apple products (iPhones, MacBooks, etc.).
Linguistic context (co-text): The set of other words used in the same phrase or sentence (e.g., If the phrase "Apple Sale" is in a sentence like "I bought fresh apples at the farmers' market," the word "apple" clearly refers to the fruit, not the tech company).
using words such as here and there, this or that, now or then, yesterday, today or tomorrow, as a way of "pointing" with language as well as pronouns such as you, me, she, him, it, them.
Ex: Sentence: I'll meet you there at 5 o'clock tomorrow.
Types of deixis:
Person Deixis : Point to things (e.g., it, this, that, these,...), and people ( e.g., I, you, we, they, he, she,...)
Spatial Deixis: Point to a place or location (e.g., here, there, this, that, above, below,...)
Temporal Deixis: Point to a time (e.g., now, then, today, tomorrow, yesterday, soon,...)
General Deixis: have deictic content in them (e.g., bring, take, go, come, far,...)
We can use Tense as Deictic terms to point out present time, past time, and future time.
Ex:
Present tense pointing to present time
"I am eating lunch now."
"She is working today."
Past tense pointing to past time
"He went to the store yesterday."
"They finished the project last week."
Future tense pointing future time
"We will meet tomorrow."
"She is going to start next month."
an act by which a speaker/writer uses language to enable a listener/reader to identify someone or something
Ex: At a restaurant, you say, "I'll have the special." The word "special" refers to the dish on the menu, but only makes sense in that context.
additional information used by listener/reader to create a connection between what is said and what must be meant.
Ex: During a project meeting, one member states, “Let’s review our findings.” The others infer that “our” refers to the group’s collective research, rather than just one person’s work.
In this type of referential relationship, the second (or subsequent) referring expression is an example of anaphora (“referring back”).
The first mention is called the antecedent.
E.g:
antecedents: a boy, a puppy, a small bath.
The puppy, the boy, he, it, the bath.
Cataphora: reverses the antecedent–anaphora relationship by beginning with a pronoun (It), then later revealing more specific information.
Presupposition refers to the assumptions a speaker or writer makes about what the listener or reader knows or believes to be true.
"Hey, your brother is looking for you"
-> presupposes that the listener has a brother.
"When did you stop smoking?"
-> The listener used to smoke.
The listener no longer smokes.
Pragmatic markers are optional expressions that provide context to utterances and help manage the conversation such as "you know," "well," "I mean," and "I don’t know."
Politeness can be defined as showing awareness and consideration of another person’s face.
E.g:
You directly command to get someone to do something (Give me that paper!)
→ more social power than the other person.
Negative Face: The desire to be independent and free from imposition (e.g., "I’m sorry to bother you...").
Positive Face: The need for connection and belonging (e.g., "Let’s do this together...").
A speech act is an action performed using language, such as requesting, commanding, questioning, or informing
Ex: , saying "I'll be there at six" performs the speech act of promising.
Direct vs. Indirect Speech Acts:
Direct Speech Acts: When an utterance's structure matches its function (e.g., "Did you eat the pizza?" as a question).
Indirect Speech Acts: When an utterance's structure differs from its function (e.g., "Can you pass the salt?" is a question about ability but functions as a request).
1 What kinds of deictic expressions are used here (e.g. We = person deixis)?
(a) We went there last summer.
(b) I’m busy now so you can’t stay here. Come back later.
-> (a) We = person deixis; there = place deixis; last summer = time deixis.
(b) I = person deixis; now = time deixis; you = person deixis; here = place deixis.
2 How do we describe the pragmatic difference between the pair here and now versus there and then?
-> Here and now indicate a direct, immediate context tied to the speaker's current situation.
There and then refer to a past or distant context, which may not be directly experienced by the speaker or listener.
3 What kind of inference is involved in interpreting each of these utterances?
(a) T E A C H E R : You can borrow my Shakespeare.
(b) WA I T E R : The ham sandwich left without paying.
(c) N U R S E : The hernia in room 5 wants to talk to the doctor.
(d) D E N T I S T : My eleven-thirty canceled so I had an early lunch.
->(a) The listener infers that "Shakespeare" refers to a work by Shakespeare, not the person.
(b) The inference is that the ham sandwich is a customer who left without paying, using anthropomorphism.
(c) The hernia is a playful way to refer to a patient, implying they want to talk to the doctor.
(d) The inference is that a scheduled appointment was canceled, resulting in an unexpected break.
4 What are the anaphoric expressions in the following sentence?
Dr. Foster gave Andy some medicine after he told her about his headaches and she advised him to take the pills three times a day until the pain went away.
he (referring to Andy), her (referring to Dr. Foster), she (referring to Dr. Foster), him (referring to Andy).
5 What is the technical term for the phrase an old car in its relationship with it in the following utterance?
I have an old car, but it runs great.
-> The technical term is anaphor. In this case, "it" is an anaphor referring back to "an old car."
6 What is one obvious presupposition of a speaker who says:
(a) Your clock isn’t working.
(b) Where did he find the money?
(c) We regret buying that car.
(d) The king of France is bald
-> (a) The presupposition is that there is a clock.
(b) The presupposition is that he found the money somewhere.
(c) The presupposition is that the speaker has a regret about the purchase.
(d) The presupposition is that there is currently a king of France.
7 How many pragmatic markers are used in the following interaction?
M A N A : Why does everyone think he’s a genius, I mean, he gets things wrong like the rest of us, doesn’t he?
M A K A : Well, I don’t know, he got that award last year for innovation, you know, the Brill award, at the convention in New York, I think it was.
-> There are four pragmatic markers: "I mean," "Well," "I don’t know," and "you know."
8 In these examples, is the speaker appealing to positive or negative face?
(a) If you’re free, there’s going to be a party at Yuri’s place on Saturday. -> Positive face
(b) Let’s go to the party at Yuri’s place on Saturday. Everyone’s invited. -> Positive face
9 Someone stands between you and the TV set you’re watching, so you decide to say one of the following. Identify which would be direct or indirect speech acts.
(a) Move! (c) Could you please sit down?
(b) You’re in the way. (d) Please get out of the way.
-> (a) Direct speech act
(b) Indirect speech act
(c) Indirect speech act
(d) Direct speech act
10 In terms of speech acts, how would you explain the unusual nature of this interaction between a visitor to a city, with luggage, looking lost, and a man in the street outside the railway station.