胡壮麟语言学修订版笔记Chapter8.doc

Chapter 8 Language in Use What is pragmatics? What’s the difference between pragmatics and semantics? Pragmatics is the study of the use of language in communication, particularly the relationships between sentences and the contexts and situations in which they are used. Pragmatics includes the study of (1) How the interpretation and use of utterances depends on knowledge of the real world; (2) How speakers use and understand speech acts; (3) How the structure of sentences is influenced by the relationship between the speaker and the hearer. Pragmatics is sometimes contrasted with semantics, which deals with meaning without reference to the users and communicative functions of sentences. 8.1 Speech act theory 8.1.1 Performatives and constatives 1. Performative: In speech act theory an utterance which performs an act, such as Watch out (= a warning). 2. Constative: An utterance which asserts something that is either true or force. E.g. Chicago is in the United States. 3. Felicity conditions of performatives: (1) There must be a relevant conventional procedure, and the relevant participants and circumstances must be appropriate. (2) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely. (3) Very often, the relevant people must have the requisite thoughts, feelings and intentions, and must follow it up with actions as specified. 8.1.2 A theory of the illocutionary act 1. What is a speech act? A speech act is an utterance as a functional unit in communication. In speech act theory, utterances have two kinds of meaning. Propositional meaning (locutionary meaning): This is the basic literal meaning of the utterance which is conveyed by the particular words and structures which the utterance contains. Illocutionary meaning (illocutionary force): This is the effect the utterance or written text has on the reader or listener. E.g. in I’m thirsty, the propositional meaning is what the utterance says about the speaker’s physical state. The illocutionary force is t