Pragmalinguistics

Introduction
Ch.Morris Foundations of the Theory of Signs (1938) the founding father of pragmatics
His theory of semiosis makes a tripartite distinction:

Syntax

= relationships between signs and other signs arranged in a sequence

with no recourse to the world of referents

Semantics

= rel. bet. signs and referents/entities

attempts to establish rel. bet. words and the world (= referents)
language sign = signifiant and signifi

Pragmatics

= rel. bet. signs and users of the forms

only here humans enter the sign
focuses on real peoples intended meanings, assumptions, purposes,
goals, actions and their effects
cf. My glass is empty.

Pragmatics is:
- useful + exciting

- how people make sense of each other

- sense-making
- challenging + frustrating: - we do not have direct access to peoples intended meanings

Language is a highly structured phenomenon offering resources for users to meet their
expressive and communicative objectives.

Language resources:
Lexico-grammar

Phonetics/phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Lexicon + semantics
Pragmatics another level?

No ANY linguistic resource can be studied from the viewpoint of its usage
or
NO linguistic resource can be ignored by pragmatics:
Examples of pragmatically-relevant phenomena:
Phonology:

Its wonderful. = statement, exclamation, appreciation, ironical remark

dep. on prosody
pragmatic function of intonation

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Morphology: derivational
kind, lawful
unkind,unlawful
cf. bad - *unbad > good
compounding
dog bite

= norm, standard, unmarked, basic

= marked, derived

= an injury caused by dog

= an injury caused by sb. else on a dog (?)

near miss/*hit
A near miss = an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness,
or damage but had the potential to do so.

Lexis:

How old/*young is your baby-son?

How far/*close is it ... ?
old, far
= norm
young, close
= marked
Usage-related aspects of propositional meaning:
The X is on the Y The cat is on the mat
The painting is on the wall
The fly is on the ceiling
The painting is on the ceiling

horizontal
vertical
under
applied to

Peter broke the vase The vase was broken The vase got broken.
= progressive deagentivization/depersonalization
has no specific unit of analysis
is concerned with the full complexity of linguistic behaviour
is a link between the linguistics and the interdisciplinary studies focusing on
the functioning of humans in communication:
neurolinguistics
sociolinguistics
psycholinguistics
cognitive linguistics
anthropological linguistics ...

Syntax:
Pragmatics

Definitions of Pragmatics:
= science of language seen in relation to its users (J.Mey)
= the science of language use (J.Verschueren)
=study of linguistic phenomena from the point of view of their usage properties and processes
(J.Verschueren)
Pragmatics deals with biotic aspects of semiosis (Morris)
= with psychological, biological, sociological phenomena involved in language use
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Cf. semantics and pragmatics:

Both are engaged in the study meaning, BUT:
Semantics
context-independent meanings
what morphemes, words, phrases, clauses mean
(grammar and lexicon)

Pragmatics
context-dependent meanings
what users mean by language

meaning is dyadic
X means Y

triadic
Speaker means X by Y

componential analysis:
bachelor = [+male, -married]
compositional meaning:
He is a bachelor.
individual words + grammar
sentence meaning

He is a bachelor.

utterance meaning

Pragmatics = semantics + context

Context of utterance 1. spatio-temporal location
2.societal/cultural
3. textual = co-text
Meaning is not stable part of lingusitic expressions but is generated in communication
Language-in-use involves language in action by real, live people
What is language action?
Ex. A roundabout technique of saying you stole the book
= a pragmatic act
of requesting to return the book back to its place, done
implicitely, hint
indirect accussation
Q: Why do we call it pragmatic act?
A: Because we cannot explain it using normal linguistic means:
the underlying principle is implicature = implied meaning
Note: this is reminiscent of a waste-basket theory of Pragmatics (Bar-Hillel):
P is a waste-basket of linguistics
P=

a throw-away dustbin of oddities, irregularities, inconsistencies, absurdities,

etc. which cannot be normally explained

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Pragmatics = a general cognitive, social, and cultural perspective on linguistic phenomena

in relation to their usage in forms of behaviour (Verschueren)
Core topics in pragmatics:
entailment, presupposition, implicature, reference, speech acts, deixis, politeness

Why study pragmatics?

get fuller and deeper understanding of

how human mind works

humans
communicate
behave towards one another
manipulate one another

Literature:
Mey, J. 1993. Pragmatics. Blackwell.
Peccei, J.S. 1999. Pragmatics. London and New York: Routledge.
Trnyikov, L.2000. Pragmatics. In P.tekauer (ed.) Rudiments of English Linguistics. Preov:
Slovacontact.
Verschueren, J. 1999. Understanding Pragmatics. Arnold.
Yule, G. 1996. Pragmatics. OUP.

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