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Pragmatics 1 Ling400 What is pragmatics? • Pragmatics is the study of language use. • Intuitive understanding of “meaning” = truthconditional meaning (“literal meaning”) + pragmatic meaning. • We study two pragmatic theories: – Speech Acts Theory – Theory about Rules of conversation Some relevant data (1) You are at the dinner table: Can you pass the salt? request You are being interviewed for a job: Can you speak five different languages? Can you hit 30 home runs? real questions inquiring about your ability Is can ambiguous? Can we explain the data without assuming that can is ambiguous? Some relevant data (2) Your friend: Do you have two dollars? You: Yes, I do. ≈ I have at least two dollars. Your friend: Do you have two children? You: Yes, I do. ≈ I have exactly two children. Is two ambiguous? Can we explain the data without assuming that two is ambiguous? Speech Act Theory (Austin) • Idea: A sentence can be used to do things: speech acts “I promise to help you tomorrow.” By saying this, I have promised to help you tomorrow. • A sentence can describe what is happening “out there”. “John is singing a song.” Saying this does not constitute a singing of a song. Performative verbs/sentences The verb names the act being performed. “I order you to leave.” --- order “I promise to help you.” --- promise “I assert that … ” --- assert as opposed to “I am waiting for my friend.” “I live in Seattle.” “I own this mansion.” Tests for performatives • Must be in the simple present tense. “I promise …”, not “I am promising …” • The subject must be the first person. “I promise …”, not “You promise …” • The adverb hereby can be inserted. “I hereby promise …”, not “ *I hereby know you.” Direct Speech Acts • Using performative verbs: assert, promise, ask, order • Use grammatical constructions that are designed to for specific speech acts Declarative sentences: stating, asserting “I live in Seattle” = “I assert that …” Interrogative sentences: asking “Are you a student?” = “I ask if you are …” Imperative sentences: ordering “Do it at once!” = “I order you to do it at once.” Indirect Speech Acts (Searle) One can also perform speech acts by referring to their felicity conditions. S requests H to do A. 1. S believes that A has not yet been done. 2. S believes that H is able to do A. 3. S believes that H is willing to do A-type things for S. 4. S wants H to do A. Indirect Speech Acts (Searle) felicity conditions. S promises H to do A. 1. S is able to perform A. 2. H wants S to perform A. 3. S intends to do A. Puzzle1: Why can “Can you pass the salt?” be a request? • This literally means that the speaker asks whether the hearer is able to pass the salt. • Since its literal interpretation calls for an obvious answer (i.e. “Yes.”), we turn to a different possibility. • It can be interpreted as a request since it refers to one of its felicity conditions. Conversational maxims (Grice) • Quantity: Say neither more nor less than the discourse requires • Relevance: Be relevant. • Manner: Be brief and orderly; avoid ambiguity and obscurity. • Quality: Do not lie or make unsupported claims. Maxim of Quantity 1. Make your contribution to the conversation as informative as required. 2. Do not make your contribution any more informative than necessary. • This means that you should provide the right amount of information. Puzzle 2: Is two ambiguous? “Do you have two dollars?” “Yes, I do.” In this case, your friend is interested in borrowing two dollars from you. So the important question is whether you have at least two dollars, not exactly two dollars. So you say “Yes” to mean that you have at least two dollars. This is not misleading. Puzzle 2: Is two ambiguous? “Do you have two children?” “Yes, I do.” In this case, your friend is interested in the exact number of children you have. (At least, that is the normal assumption.) So if you have four children and say “yes,” that is misleading. So in that case, you should say, “No, I have four children.” Conclusion about two • The idea is that two always means “at least two.” But in the second example, you are required to make the most informative/strongest statement. Given this requirement, by saying that you have at least two children, you are indirectly denying that you have at least three children. This in effect means that you have exactly two children. To summarize: • You say: “Yes, I do” = “Yes, I have two children.” • Literal meaning: “I have at least two children.” • Rule of conversation tells us that this is the strongest statement you can make. • Implicit meaning: “It is not the case that I have at least three (or more) children.” • Conclusion: You have exactly two children. A different scenario You are applying for welfare, and you know that having at least two children will give you an advantage. Suppose you have four children. “Do you have two children?” “Yes, I do.” In this case, it is not misleading not to provide the strongest statement. So two means at least two in this case.