2014-04-03
Sources
" Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, Nina
Hyams. 2003. An introduction to language.
Introduction to linguistics  Chapter 5: The meaning of language, pp. 214-216
" Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopaedia
Lecture 7: Pragmatics (2)
of language, p. 121.
Functions of utterances Speech acts
" People communicate not only to announce " Speech act  an act that a speaker performs
facts. when making an utterance.
" Apart from utterances that communicate " John L. Austin (1962) said that speech acts can
information, be analysed on three levels:
 Locutionary act
" there are utterances which are like actions:
 Illocutionary act
 When one says, e.g. I apologise, I promise, I name
this ship, s/he performs an action:  Perlocutionary act.
 an action of apologising, promisig, naming, etc.
Speech acts A three-level analysis
" Locutionary act  what we literally say. " Example: the child won't go to sleep, the
parent says, I'll turn your light off.
" Illocutionary act  the real action performed
 The locutionary act: just uttering the sentence.
by the utterance;
 The illocutionary force of the utterance: a threat.
 the real intended meaning: e.g. praising,
criticising, agreeing.  The perlocutionary effect: getting the child to
quiet down and go to sleep.
" Perlocutionary act  an attempt to achieve a
" The illocutionary force of an utterance and its
response from the hearer: frighten, amuse,
perlocutionary effect may not coincide: the
etc.;
child may not go to sleep.
 the effect achieved on listeners.
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Implicature Implicature
" Implicatures depend on context, e.g.:
" Implicature  'hidden' meaning; explains how it is
He s never been convicted of a crime.
possible to mean more than what is actually said.
" Context 1:
" It refers to the implications which can be
 A: Can I trust him?
deduced from the utterance and context:
 B: Well, he s never been convicted of a crime (you can t
trust him: the best thing you can say about him is that he
" John is meeting a woman this evening.
hasn t been convicted).
 Implication: the woman is not his mother, sister or
" Context 2:
wife.
 A: Can he join the police academy?
" Implicatures are part of what the speaker means,
 B: Well, he s never been convicted of a crime (yes he can;
but not part of what is said. he fulfils one of the requirements of the academy).
Grice's theory of implicature The co-operative principle (CP)
" The success of a conversation depends on " Co-operative principle: a speaker s
conversation should be as effective and
 what speakers actually say and
cooperative as possible.
 their whole approach to the interaction (their
cooperation).
" It includes four basic maxims:
" The principles include four basic maxims of
1. Maxim of Quality  make your contribution
conversation which jointly express a general
one that is true, specifically:
co-operative principle (Grice 1975).
 Do not say what you believe to be false.
" The maxims are not rules  they just describe
 Do not say that for which you lack adequate
what happens in a conversation. evidence.
The co-operative principle (CP) The co-operative principle (CP)
2. Maxim of Relevance  make your
" The maxims can be observed, violated or
contribution relevant (to the point).
flouted.
3. Maxim of Quantity  make your contribution
" Violating the maxims can lead to
as informative as it is required.
conversational break-down:
 Do not make your contribution more informative
 a speaker that is obscure, unclear or ambiguous
than it is required.
can be misinterpreted.
4. Maxim of Manner  be clear:
" However, people may wish to flout one of the
 Avoid obscurity or ambiguity.
maxims (disobey them on purpose).
 Be brief and orderly.
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Observing the maxims Flouting the maxims
A. Do you have any children?
A. Can you tell me the time?
B. I have one son.
B. Well, the news has just begun.
" If B really has only one child, B is observing
" Semantically, B s answer makes no sense.
the maxim of quantity:
" But there's a lot of information implied.
 B says just enough to answer the question.
Speaker A means:
" If B also has daughters, B is saying less than
 Do you have the ability to tell me the time of the
required to answer the question,
present moment, as indicated on a watch, and if
 then B violates the m. of quantity (and possibly
so please tell me the time.
the m. of quality if B is lying).
Flouting the maxims Flouting the maxims
" Speaker B means:
A. Teheran is in Turkey, isn't it?
 No, I don't know the exact time of the present
B. And London's in Armenia, I suppose?
moment, but I can provide some information from
" B deliberately utters a falsehood (flouts the
which you may be able to deduce the appropriate
time, namely the news has just begun.
m. of quality) to indicate the obvious
" On the surface, the maxims are violated, but
incorrectness and ignorance of A.
in fact speaker B is following the CP.
" B is not uncooperative  pretends to violate
 thanks to our ability of understanding
the maxim to achieve a certain goal: to imply
implicatures, most of the information does not
that A is uneducated.
have to be stated.
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