语用学

THE GOALS OF THE COURSE ARE THE FOLLOWING: ∙

understand core assumptions, concepts, and issues typically covered in the field of pragmatics ∙

be able to analyze presuppositions, implicatures, deixis and speech acts ∙

learn how meaning and communication are related to texts and contexts ∙

learn about the relationship between language form and meaning and how they (separately and together) are related to communicative and contextual meaning ∙ become aware of the challenge of relating the philosophical bases of

pragmatics to linguistic theories, and the related challenge of assessing theories through empirical modes of inquiry

THE LEVELS OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC

pragmatics

∙ The word pragmatics derives from the Greek word ‘pragma’, which m eans ‘matter’, ‘thing’, but also ‘action’.

Question 1: two groups of students come to blackboard to write down their own definition of meaning , others look up the definition given for

meaning in dictionaries. Purpose, significance, signification, intention and sense Question 2: What does cat mean?

Question 3: What does cream mean?

Question 4: What does to drink mean?

A cat is a domestic feline;

Cream is the liquid fat of milk;

T o drink is to consume liquid.

QUESTION 5 What does cats drink cream mean {paraphrase} ?

∙ Domestic felines consume the liquid fat of milk.

∙ Cream is drunk by cats.

∙ The liquid fat of milk is drunk by domestic felines.

∙ Mike, Annie and Mike’s cat, Felix are in Mike’s kitchen. What did A nnie mean? Mike: What happened to that bowl of cream?

Annie: Cats drink cream.

Cats drink cream.