Pragmatics

 

Pragmatics

Introduction

Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in context to convey meaning beyond the literal interpretation of words. It explores how people communicate through implications, inferences, and the effects of context, culture, and social dynamics on language. Pragmatics delves into the subtleties of language, examining aspects such as implicature, speech acts, conversational implicature, and the role of pragmatics in everyday communication. It plays a crucial role in understanding how language users navigate the complexities of effective communication in various cultural and social settings.

 Here are some definitions of pragmatics from notable linguists and sources:

 

1. From Stephen C. Levinson: "Pragmatics is the study of how people understand the meaning of utterances in context.

2. From George Yule: "Pragmatics is concerned with the interpretation of speaker meaning in context."

3. From Deborah Tannen: "Pragmatics involves the way language is used to accomplish different goals in different social contexts."

4. From John Searle: "Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker to a listener."

5. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "Pragmatics is the study of how people make sense of what others intend to convey with their words."

 

These definitions highlight the central theme of pragmatics, which is understanding how language is used in real-world situations to convey meaning, often extending beyond the literal interpretation of words.

 

The principles and goals of pragmatics

 

 

1. Exploring Implicature: The goal is to understand how implied meanings are derived from context. For example, when someone says, "I have two books," it implies they don't have more than two, even though they didn't explicitly say, "I only have two books."

 

2. Analyzing Speech Acts: The principle involves identifying different speech acts and their intentions. For instance, saying, "Can you pass the salt?" is not just a question; it's a request for someone to pass the salt.

 

3. Investigating Context and Inference: Pragmatics explores how context and background knowledge influence interpretation. If someone says, "It's chilly in here," you infer that they might want to adjust the temperature.

 

4. Understanding Cultural and Societal Variations:This goal seeks to uncover how language use varies across cultures. For example, in some cultures, direct communication is preferred, while in others, indirect and polite language is more common.

 

5. Analyzing Discourse and Conversation Analysis:Pragmatics studies how conversations are structured and how speakers take turns. In a job interview, the interviewer often leads the conversation, and the interviewee responds.

 

6. Facilitating Effective Communication: Ultimately, pragmatics aims to help individuals communicate effectively. If someone is too indirect in their request, like saying, "It's chilly in here," rather than "Can you turn up the heat?" effective communication might be hindered.

 

These examples illustrate how pragmatics allows us to understand the intricacies of language use in context and how it contributes to effective communication by going beyond the literal meanings of words.

Utterance Meaning versus Sentence Meaning

In pragmatics,

 the distinction between "utterance meaning" and "sentence meaning" is crucial in understanding how language is used in real communication. These concepts highlight the difference between what is explicitly expressed by the words in a sentence and what is implied in a specific utterance within a particular context.

 

Sentence Meaning: refers to the literal meaning of a sentence, often referred to as "truth-conditional meaning." It is the meaning that can be determined by analyzing the words and grammar of the sentence alone, without considering the context. For example, in the sentence "The car is red," the sentence meaning is a statement about the color of the car.

 

Utterance Meaning: on the other hand, takes into account the specific context in which a sentence is used. It considers factors such as the speaker's intention, the listener's interpretation, and the shared knowledge between the interlocutors. In the sentence "The car is red," the utterance meaning can vary depending on the context. If the speaker is pointing at a blue car and says this, the utterance meaning may imply sarcasm or an indirect criticism of the car's actual color.

 

In essence, sentence meaning is the abstract, context-independent meaning of a sentence, while utterance meaning is the meaning as it is conveyed and interpreted in a particular instance of communication. Pragmatics deals with how context, intention, and shared knowledge shape utterance meaning, allowing us to grasp the complexities of real-world language use beyond the strict confines of sentence meaning.

Part 2

CONTEXT IN LANGUAGE USE

Context in pragmatics is a fundamental and dynamic aspect of understanding how language functions in real communication. It refers to the broader set of circumstances, information, and factors that influence the interpretation and meaning of language, extending far beyond the literal words and grammar of a sentence. Within the realm of pragmatics, context encompasses various dimensions, including situational context, social context, cultural context, co-text, shared knowledge, and more. Each of these aspects plays a critical role in shaping the intentions of the speaker and the interpretation of the listener. For instance, the way a sentence is understood in a casual conversation among friends may drastically differ from its interpretation in a formal business meeting.

 

Understanding the nuances of context in language use is pivotal for effective communication. It enables us to appreciate how meaning is conveyed, how misunderstandings are minimized, and how language serves as a dynamic tool for expression and interpretation. Pragmatics, as a branch of linguistics, delves into the intricate interplay between language and context, shedding light on how people navigate the subtleties of everyday communication by relying on a rich tapestry of contextual cues, shared knowledge, and cultural norms.

 

Meaning and Features of Contex

In pragmatics, the concept of context is central to understanding the dynamic nature of language use. Context refers to the encompassing environment, information, and factors that extend beyond the mere words and grammatical structure of a sentence, profoundly influencing the interpretation and meaning of language. This multifaceted concept is characterized by several key features. Context is inherently multifaceted, encompassing various dimensions such as situational context, social context, and cultural context. Situational context relates to the immediate physical, temporal, and spatial setting of communication. Social context considers the relationships between participants, their roles, and their social status, while cultural context reflects the cultural norms and values that shape language use. Co-text, which involves the words and phrases surrounding a specific expression, plays a vital role in disambiguating meaning. Shared knowledge, or the collective understanding between communication partners, is drawn upon to make sense of messages. Context also drives pragmatic inferences, allowing listeners to bridge gaps and grasp implied meanings, while presuppositions guide how speakers assume listeners' shared knowledge. Ambiguity resolution is another key feature, with context helping to decipher multiple meanings of words and phrases. Ultimately, understanding these features of context is pivotal in pragmatics, as it unveils how language is employed in real communication, going far beyond sentence meaning and offering insight into the richness and complexity of human interaction.

Type of Context

 

 

1. Situational Context: This encompasses the immediate physical, temporal, and spatial setting where communication takes place. For example, if two people are having a conversation in a library, the situational context suggests that they should use hushed tones and maintain a quiet atmosphere.

 

2. Social Context: Social context considers the relationships between participants, their roles, and their social status. For instance, the language and tone used when speaking to a close friend (e.g., "Hey, what's up?") differ from the language and tone used when addressing a superior (e.g., "Good morning, sir.").

 

3. Cultural Context: Cultural norms, values, and conventions significantly influence language use. In Japan, for example, there are specific linguistic expressions and behaviors that are considered more polite and appropriate than in some Western cultures.

 

4. Co-text: Co-text refers to the words and phrases surrounding a particular word or expression in a text or conversation. In the sentence "She ordered a hot chocolate," the co-text helps to clarify that "hot" refers to the temperature of the beverage rather than its popularity.

 

5. **Shared Knowledge:** Effective communication relies on shared knowledge or common ground, where both the speaker and listener draw upon their collective understanding. When someone says, "Remember when we went to that amazing concert last summer?" the shared knowledge is about the past event and the concert experience.

 

6. Pragmatic Inference: Pragmatic inferences are drawn from contextual cues to bridge gaps in meaning. In the sentence "It's cold in here," a pragmatic inference might be that the speaker wants someone to adjust the temperature or bring a jacket.

 

7. Presupposition: Presuppositions are the background assumptions that speakers make, assuming that their listeners share the same understanding. For example, when someone says, "I've lost my keys," the presupposition is that they previously had possession of the keys.

 

 

Discourse Context. Discourse context

refers to the broader linguistic and communicative setting in which language is used, providing a framework for interpreting language beyond individual sentences or phrases. Several key components contribute to the understanding of discourse context, and here are explanations and examples for each:

(i) The ongoing activity

(ii) The role relationships

(iii) The symbolic channel (i.e. the medium, either written or spoken) The ongoing

 

 

 

Part 3

CONVERSATIONAL PRINCIPLE

In pragmatics, conversational principles are fundamental guidelines that underlie effective and cooperative communication between speakers. These principles are based on the work of philosopher H.P. Grice and are known as Grice's Maxims. Grice identified four conversational maxims, which are often considered conversational principles:

 

1. Maxim of Quantity: Speakers should provide an appropriate amount of information – not too much or too little. This involves being as informative as is needed for the conversation. For example, if someone asks, "What's the time?" responding with "It's 6:30 PM" adheres to the maxim of quantity by giving enough information to answer the question.

 

2. Maxim of Quality: Speakers should strive to be truthful and provide information that they believe to be true. This maxim involves not giving false or misleading information. For instance, when asked about the weather, responding with accurate information rather than making up details adheres to the maxim of quality.

 

3. Maxim of Relation: Speakers should provide relevant and pertinent information that contributes to the ongoing conversation. They should avoid introducing unrelated or off-topic information. For instance, during a discussion about travel plans, introducing a story about your pet's recent antics may not align with the maxim of relation.

 

4. Maxim of Manner: Speakers should be clear, concise, and avoid unnecessary complexity in their communication. This maxim encourages speakers to avoid ambiguity, vagueness, and overly complicated language. Using straightforward and concise language, especially in instructions or explanations, aligns with the maxim of manner.

 

Grice's Maxims serve as a foundation for understanding how speakers and listeners cooperate in conversation to convey and interpret meaning effectively. However, in real-life conversations, these maxims are often flouted or exploited for various pragmatic reasons, leading to implicatures and indirect communication. Pragmatics explores how these conversational principles are employed in everyday language use and how their manipulation can convey deeper or implied meanings in communication.

 

entailment

 refers to a semantic relationship between two sentences or propositions where the truth of one necessarily leads to the truth of the other. In other words, if a statement A entails statement B, it means that if statement A is true, then statement B must also be true. Entailment is a logical relationship that focuses on the inherent meaning of sentences or propositions.

 

Example of Entailment:

Statement A: "John has one brother."

Statement B: "John has a sibling."

 

In this example, statement A ("John has one brother") entails statement B ("John has a sibling") because if John has one brother, it logically follows that he must have at least one sibling. The truth of statement A necessarily implies the truth of statement B. Entailment often deals with logical implications and relationships within language, which can be crucial in understanding how meaning is conveyed in pragmatics.

implicature

 refers to an additional meaning conveyed indirectly in a statement, beyond the literal or explicit meaning of the words. Implicature is a significant aspect of Grice's Cooperative Principle, which suggests that speakers and listeners cooperate to ensure effective communication. Implicatures can be broadly categorized into two types: conversational implicature and conventional implicature.

 

Example of Conversational Implicature:

Statement: "She ate some of the cookies."

 

While the statement explicitly says that she ate some of the cookies, the conversational implicature might be that she did not eat all of the cookies. This implicature arises from the Maxim of Quantity, which suggests that speakers should provide the right amount of information. By not saying, "She ate all the cookies," the speaker implicates that she did not eat all of them.

 

It's important to note that implicatures are not necessarily derived from the words themselves but often depend on the context, the cooperative principles, and the speaker's intentions. Pragmatics explores how speakers use implicatures to convey meaning effectively in everyday communication.