【VIP专享】Pragmatics语言学

Nice to see you all back again
Chapter One Introduction
1. the origin of pragmatics
1) about the term “pragmatics”语用学
The term "Pragmatics" was first used by Charles William Morris
" Foundations of the Theory of Sign"( 1938) .
Semiotics syntax semantics users
2) the establishment
Pragmatics, as a comparatively new and independent discipline of linguistics, appeared in1970s with the publication of "Journal of Pragmatics" in Hetherlands in1977. Before that time the study of pragmatics was limited in the field of linguistic philosophy.
3) The three stages in the development of pragmatics:
the first stage is from the late 1930s to late 1940s
----Pierce, Morris and Carnap considered pragmatics to be a branch of semiology符号学and all the studies were within the domain of philosophy;
The second stage is from the beginning of 1950s to late 1960s
----Austin, Searle and Grice made studied on speech act and implicature theory, and their achievements sustained the basic theory of pragmatics. The studies were still within the domain of philosophy then;
The third stage is after 1970s
----the biggest three events happened and pragmatics became an independent discipline.
a) In 1977 Mey and Haberland started the Journal of Pragmatics in Holand.
b) In 1983 Levinson and Leech published their respective
works Pragmatics and Principle of Pragmatics, which set up the theoretic system of pragmatics.
c) the set-up of the International Pragmatics Association in 1986 in Belgium.
2. What is Pragmatics
Some definitions of Pragmatics:
1) Pragmatics is the study of all those aspects of meaning not captured in a semantic theory.
2) Pragmatics is the study of the relations between
language and context that are basic to an account of lang understanding.
3) Pragmatics is the study of linguistic acts and the contexts
in which they are performed.
4) Pragmatics is a theory which seeks to characterise how
speakers use the sentences of a language to effect successful communication.
5) Pragmatics is the study of language use and linguistic communication.
6) Pragmatics can be defined as the study of how
utterances have meanings in situations.
What do we find in common in the above definitions of Pragmatics？meaning context
Briefly speaking, pragmatics refers to the study language in use, or the meaning in context, or the use of language in communication, or the relationship between linguistic elements and the contexts or situations in which they are used.
Language use----language system
the distinguishing feature of language use from language system is:
“One can mean more than one says”
Examples:
（1）只可意会，不可言传，言有尽而意无尽，
词不达意，不知从何说起。

(2) (1999年4月，朱总理访问美国时在MIT作关于中美贸易的演讲的开场白)
1947年我在清华上学时，清华被称为中国的MIT。

教科书大部分来自MIT。

……我当时就憧憬有一天能来MIT学习，拿个学位。

但是，校长先生请不要误会，我绝对不是
要个荣誉的学位。

……如果我要拿学位，一定要经过考试、答辩。

(3) Is this your pen?
as a unit in the language system, is a question concerning the ownership of a pen.
In actual situations, however, it may have several different meanings.
----"May I use your pen?" request
----"Don't leave it behind." reminding
----"Pick it up!". commanding
Why one can mean more than one says in linguistic communication? This is what Pragmatics tries to explain. In other words, pragmatics tries to find out the underlying principles of this linguistic phenomenon, or the principles of language use.
3. Pragmatics and Semantics
three different views :
1) Pragmatics is part of Semantics
2) Semantics is part of Pragmatics
3) Pragmatics and Semantics are two distinctive and
complementary areas of linguistics.
The diference between the two:
different levels.
Generally speaking, semantics deals with meaning as a dyadic relation between a form and its meaning, that is, " What does X mean?----X means Y", while pragmatics regards meaning as a triadic relation between speaker, meaning and form/utterance, that is, "What do you mean by X?----S means Y by X. ".
semantics studies linguistic meaning, including word meaning and sentence meaning, which is the conceptual meaning, abstract meaning and context-independent meaning;
while pragmatics studies utterance’s or speaker's meaning, which is the meaning in language use and which is context dependent and concrete.
Now let's use an example to illustrate the difference between the two.
"My husband will be back soon."
Promise
Th
Request
Another example: “well”
From the semantic point of view, it means “ in a good, right or satisfactory way”
From the pragmatic point of view, the meaning depends on the context, e.g.
a) A: How long have you known John Smith?
B: Well, I should say about five years.
Let me see wait a moment
b) A: Do you have an umbrella with you? It’s raining.
B: Well, I never thought it would rain!
c) A: Do you like pop music?
B: Well, no, not really.
d) A: How do you like this dress I bought yesterday?
B: Well, the colour is nice.
A: How about going to the cinema?
B: Well, I have to prepare for the exam.
Compare:
A: Did you kill your wife?
B1: Well, yes.
B2: Yes.
4. Pragmatics and Syntax
1) Syntax studies sentences as units of the abstract linguistic system while Pragmatics studies utterances as instances of the system;
2) Syntax stops at the sentence level discourse
while Pragmatics looks at bigger chunks of conversation;
3) Syntax regards sentences as stable products
while Pragmatics treats utterances as dynamic processes; 4) Syntax analyses sentences in isolation
while Pragmatics analyses utterances in close connection with their contexts of situation.
Exercises:
1. 请从语用的角度解释下列对话中每个“意思”的意思
　（情景：阿呆给领导送红包时，两人所进行的对话）
领导：“你这是什么意思？”
阿呆：“没什么意思，意思意思。

”
领导：“你这就不够意思了。

”
阿呆：“小意思，小意思。

”
领导：“你这人真有意思。

”
阿呆：“其实也没有别的意思。

”
领导：“那我就不好意思了。

”
阿呆：“是我不好意思。

”
2. Some semantically ill-formed sentences can make sense if they are considered pragmatically. Look at the following sentences:
(1) John is a Hitler. (2) Golf plays John.
(3) Boys are boys.
Questions:a) In what ways are the sentences above semantically ill-formed?b) In what context can the three sentences be used for communication? What can the speaker in each case mean?。