PRAGMATICS

PRAGMATICS

1. LECTURE 14 & 15 GRICE

   • CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE
     • WHEN PEOPLE COMMUNICATE, THEY DO SO WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT THEM AND THE HEARER WILL BE COOPERATIVE
     • INFERENCES DRAWN ON THE BASIS OF ASSUMPTION OF COOPERATION ARE CALLED CONVERSATIONAL IMPLICATURES
       • NOT PART OF ENCODED MEANING
         • CANCELLABLE
   • CONVERSATIONAL MAXIMS
     • QUALITY: MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION ONE THAT IS TRUE
       • QUANTITY: GIVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS REQUIRED
         • RELEVANCE: MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS RELEVANT
           • MANNER: AVOID AMBIGUITY
   • VIOLATIONS & FLOUTS
     • MAXIMS ARE VIOLATED ALL THE TIME WITHOUT MAJOR PROBLEMS
     • INTENTIONAL MAXIMS ARE KNOWN AS FLOUTS
       • LISTENERS USE CP TO FIND THE REASON FOR THE FLOUTING OF THE MAXIM
     • HEARER ORIENTED
   • CONVENTIONAL IMPLICATURES
     • COMMITTING ONESELF TO X BEING THE CASE WITHOUT SAYING SOMETHING WHICH WOULD BE FALSE IF THE IMPLICATURE FAILED TO BE TRUE
       • COUNTEREXPECTATIONAL MEANING
         • NON - TRUTH CONDITIONAL ASPECTS
     • SHE IS POOR BUT HONEST
     • PROJECT BEYOND NEGATION
     • UNCANCELLABLE

2. LECTURES 16, 17, 18 RELEVANCE THEORY

   • SPERBER & WILSON'S PROPOSAL
     • EXPLAIN HOW THE HEARER INFERS THE SPEAKER'S MEANING ON THE BASIS OF THE EVIDENCE PROVIDED
     • HUMANS ARE COMPUTERS AND WE PAY ATTENTION TO STIMULI THAT WE ASSUME OR WORTHY OF OUR ATTENTION
     • REJECT THE CODE MODEL OF COMMUNICATION AND INSTEAD ARGUE THE INFERENTIAL MODEL
   • RELEVANCE
     • PRINCIPLE
       • CO-OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE GUIDES HOW WE REASON ABOUT VERBAL COMMUNICATION
       • ONE SUPERMAXIM: RELEVANCE
       • CONNECTS INPUT TO CONTEXTUAL ASSUMPTIONS TO YIELD POSITIVE COGNITIVE EFFECTS
       • HUMAN COGNITION IS GEARED TOWARDS THE MAXIMISATION OF RELEVANCE
     • PRESUMPTION
       • EVERY ACT OF OVERT COMMUNICATION CONVEYS A PRESUMPTION OF ITS OWN OPTIMAL RELEVANCE
       • TO COMMUNICATE IS TO INDICATE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING RELEVANT TO GET ACROSS TO THE HEARER
       • ATTENTION - GETTING
     • OPTIMAL
       • DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD OPEN A WINDOW? EXAMPLE
       • STIMULUS IS OPTIMALLY RELEVANT IFF:
         • RELEVANT ENOUGH TO BE WORTH THE AUDIENCES PROCESSING EFFORT
           • IT IS THE MOST RELEVANT ONE COMPATIBLE WITH COMMUNICATOR'S ABILITIES AND PREFERENCES
   • EXPLICATURES
     • WHAT IS SAID
       • AN EXPLICATURE IS DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN WHAT IS SAID AND WHAT IS ENCODED
         • PROPOSITION WE ARRIVE AT ONCE THE CONTEXT 'FILLS IN' THE GAP IN THE ENCODED MESSAGE
       • EXPLICATURE = WHAT IS SAID = WHAT IS COMMUNICATED = IMPLICATURE
       • HEARER ORIENTATED
     • CONVENTIONAL IMPLICATURES
       • EXPLICATURES CONSTITUTE THE EXPLICIT CONTENT OF AN UTTERANCE, NOT JUST THE TRUTH CONDITIONAL CONTENT
         • CONVENTIONAL IMPLICATURES ARE PART OF WHAT IS COMMUNICATED EXPLICITLY.

3. LECTURE 19 PRESUPPOSITIONS

   • PROPERTIES OF PRESUPPOSITIONS
     • NON - TRUTH CONDITIONAL
       • BACKGROUNDED - HEY WAIT A MINUTE TEST
         • PROJECTIVE - PRESERVED UNDER NEGATION
           • PLUGGABLE - TAKE PRESUPPOSITIONS AWAY FROM BEING ATTRIBUTED TO THE SPEAKER
             • UNCANCELLABLE - CONTRADICTORY - 'JOHN HAS QUIT SMOKING, ALTHOUGH HE NEVER SMOKED IN THE FIRST PLACE'
               • ACCOMODATION
     • HEY WAIT A MINUTE TEST
   • COMMON GROUND
     • THE HEARER ACCOMODATES THE PRESUPPOSITION INTO A SET OF PROPOSITONS BOTH SPEAKERS SHARE
       • THIS IS THE COMMON GROUND
         • IT HELPS WITH CONTEXT IN SITUATIONS OF COMMUNICATION

4. LECTURE 21 SCALAR IMPLICATURES

   • SCALAR IMPLICATURES
     • DEALS WITH SCALES OF IMPLICATURES LIKE SOME AND MANY
     • JOHN BOUGHT THREE BOOKS
       • IMPLIES
         • JOHN BOUGHT EXACTLY THREE BOOKS
           • IS CANCELLABLE
   • EXCLUSIVITY IMPLICATURE
     • USED IN SITUATIONS WHERE THE SPEAKER GIVES AN 'OR' SITUATION
   • PROBLEMS
     • PICKING WHICH ALTERNATIVES TO USE
       • USE HORN'S SCALE
     • TAKE S AND STRENGTHEN IT WITH S' AND NEGATE IT, AND ADD IT TO WHAT YOU'RE COMMUNICATING

5. LECTURE 20 CONTEXT + REFERENCE

   • FILLING IN
     • LOGICAL FORMS ARE UNDERSPECIFIED FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS
       • PRAGMATIC ENRICHMENT (EXPLICATURE) HELPS FILL IN
     • PRONOUNS ASSIGN REFERENCE
       • POINT TO PROPOSITIONS IN THE COMMON GROUND
   • ELLIPSIS
     • ANOTHER FILLING IN TECHNIQUE
       • WHOLE CONSTITUENTS ARE MISSED OUT
     • REQUIRES A LINGUISTIC ANTECEDENT
   • DEEP & SURFACE ANAPHORA
     • PRONOUNS = DEEP ANAPHORA = FILLED IN BY ANYTHING
     • ELIPSIS = SURFACE ANAPHORA = REQUIRES LINGUISTIC ANTECEDENT
   • ONE CONTEXT
     • 2 TPES OF CONTEXT:
       • LINGUISTIC = REQUIRED FOR ELLIPSIS
         • PROPOSITIONAL = COMMON GROUND
     • ALTERNATIVE: JUST ONE CONTEXT, BUT PROPOSITIONS HAVE DIFFERENT STATUSES, RULES AND REFERENCES
       • RULE FOR NOMINAL REFERENCE: POINT TO ANY ENTITY
         • RULE FOR ELLIPSIS: POINT TO EXPLICIT PROPOSITION

6. DEFINITIONS