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PRAGMATICS-COURSE 1

L as social action context, L use, intention, identity of andrelationship between L users,

Language is a system of symbols which we know and use(Robert Stainton)

== 3 different perspectives:1) L as a system of symbolsTHING theories of meaning2) L as smth we know IDEA theories of meaning3) L as smth we use- USE theories of meaning

THING THEORIES

A word corresponds to an external object and nothing mediatesbetween the word and the thing referred to.==> the meaning of aname = the object named, i.e. the thing which the expressionrepresents or denotes

Ss denote truth values. Truth = correspondence with facts, correctdescriptions of states of affairs in the world. ==the object ofinvestigation of truth-conditional semantics or logical semantics (theverificationist theory : Ss whose meaning cannot bedirectly/empirically verified as T or F by appeal to experience may beconsidered meaningless.

BUT : Is The king of France is bald. T or F?

More elaborate versions do not focus on the relationship btw a wordand its referent, but rather between words, sense and reference(Frege)The sense of a term = the concept/definition a speaker grasps whenunderstanding what the term means (e.g. the idea of cattiness forcat)The reference of a term = the object/set of objects the term names(the set of cats in the world)

Terms may differ in sense although they may refer to the same thing.Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain DO NOT have the same sense in

although they refer to the same person.It is common knowledge that Mark Twain is the author of Tom SawyerIt is common knowledge that Samuel Clemens is the author of TomSawyer(??)

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Senses are the various ways people can think about objects, the way inwhich objects are presented (the manner and context of presentationof the objecte.g.Freges ex : the Morning Star vs the Evening Star (2 sense, samereference : the planet Venus)

Shakespeare/Old Will/the Swan of AvonMichael Jackson/Wacko Jacko/The King of Popdesignate the same thing but express a different sense.There are also senses which do not denote/have no referent in theworld : unicorn, leprichauon, the, but, the largest number in the world,the person who will invent the cure against AIDS, the likely winner ofthe next Oscar award..

IDEA THEORIES : linguistic meaning comes from pairing expressionswith smth in the mind==The image version:

David Hume : An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding : Wordsare expressive ideas, where what is meant by an idea is like acomplex of remembered sensations/perceptions (mental images)e.g. mental images associated with pork chop encounters collectivelyengender the meaning of the word pork chop

There is a fixed image for every word are words like seven andfrom meaningless?BUT :Not all meanings can be captured by mental images.Certain associations btw words and mental meanings are accidental.Every mental image is specific (Cat : Do we have in mind a cat that is

curled up asleep or awake licking milk from a saucer??imagine cat thatis not black, white, striped).Unlike a meaning, an image cannot correspond to a whole class ofthings (What image corresponds to the class vegetables?)

The sentence version:Public words and Ss are meaningful bc they are paired with mentalrepresentations, which are S-like rather than picture-like. == humanbeings understand the world in terms of a language of thought (LOT) ormentalese, largely based on Ss rather than imagesThe ability to capture words via Ss in the mind is inborn (Chomskys

nativism/innatism)

USE THEORIESThe meaning of a linguistic expression is given by its use, its beingused with a specific intention, under certain circumstances,pursuing a certain goal.Its meanings resides in what the expression does for a S and a H in agiven context.

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Duranti and Goodwin (1992) emphasise four parameters of context,1) the setting or the socially situated framework of the verbalencounter2) the use of body stances and behavioural trends during the verbalencounter

3) or L stretches used-prior to the respective interaction, whichestablishes the co-text for both Speaker and Hearer (Duranti andGoodwin 1992: 5).4) background knowledge of communicators, consisting of attitudesand beliefs, values and norms, which enables Lg users to derivemeaning out of the verbal exchange.

L is used in a multiplicity of ways. multitude of linguistic activities or L-games (Wittgenstein ) :Giving orders and obeying them-//Describing the appearance of anobject, //reporting an event//speculating about an event//forming and

testing a hypothesis//making up a story// play-acting//singing//guessingriddles//telling a joke//translating from one L into another//asking//thanking//cursing//greeting//praying

AUSTIN : Instead of saying smth a speaker may be doing smth :performing an action :ask a Q//give an order//get engaged or married//make bets andpromises//congratulate//warn//apologise//curse//protest//toast//thank//rank and classify//argue and hypothesise//appoint//baptize

AUSTINS DISTINCTION PERFORMATIVE/CONSTATIVE:

2 types of Speech Acts (Austin: How To Do Things with Words: 1962):1) CONSTATIVES state propositions about the world, describe existingstates-of affairs2) PERFORMATIVES- instate new realitites by means of uttering certainpropositions, create new states-of-affairs

Performatives (unlike constatives) are not descriptive, therefore arenot truth-evaluable. Instead of truth-conditions, they aresuccessful if certain felicity conditions are abided by.

Austin - 3 types offelicity conditions:

(i) There must be a conventional procedure having a conventionaleffect.(ii) The circumstances and persons must be appropriate, as specified inthe procedure.iii) The procedure must be executed correctly and completely.

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Many SAs rely on social conventions to support them, sometimes theyare embedded in institutional facts, i.e. procedures and ceremonieswhere some Us carry a special function.e.g. a judge saying I sentence you to hang by the neck until deada priest saying I now pronounce you man and wife

a countrys president announcing I declare a state of nationalemergency

+ a sincerity condition the persons must have the requisitethoughts, feelings and intentions, as specified in the procedure.

Violation of any of the felicity conditions unhappy or infelicitousperformative or misfire.

e.g., a registrar or a priest conducting a marriage ceremony in anunauthorized place

a judge uttering I sentence you to life imprisonment not in court butin the showera president declaring war to another country not via the officialprocedures but within an informal setting, when he merely voices histhought or intentions.

A command cannot be issued by a particular person of lower status orpowerto another particular person of higher status orpower.A promise is usually issued in relation to some future act, while anapology indicates regret for a past action Speaker feels responsible for.

If the sincerity condition is violated, there is a case of abuse.e.g.: congratulating someone when one knows that they have passedan examination by cheating, or making a promise when one alreadyintends to break it.I promise to lend you all the money you need (when I dont have theslightest intention to do so or when Im penniless)I warn you that youll pay through the nose (when I know I am not in

any position to sanction you legally or otherwise)I congratulate you for this s breath-taking performance (when I amnot in the least pleased with the performance in question)

Not even Ss that occur in the grammatical form of declaratives arenecessarily constatives. The following utterances perform the actspecified by the performative Ve.g.:a.I promise to take a taxi home.//b. I bet you 5 $ that hell bebreathalysed.//I declare the meeting open.//d. I warn you that legalaction will ensue.//e. I name this ship The Flying Dutchman.I hereby bequeath you my estate.vs *I hereby cook this cake.

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Explicit performatives vs implicit performatives:1) begin with V in the 1st p. sing : I bet, I warn2) the V belongs to a special class indicating the type of SA being

performed : promise, invite, bet, warn, pronounce, appoint, declare.3) the performativity can be emphasised by inserting the Adv. hereby

btw, I and the V.

Revision of the Austinian view:Later in his research, Austin collapsed the distinction and viewedconstatives/the making of statements as just another type of SA calledsimply stating.==> Austins SA theory was further expanded by Searle(to be developed in course 2)

3 facets of a SA:1. the speaker says something that makes sense in a L = the

locutionary act (what is said)

2. the S signals an associated speech act = the illocutionary act (whatis meant)

3. the SA causes an effect on the H = the perlocutionary act (what isintended to be effected)

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