Lecture notes on Pragmatics for PBET 1101, TESL Program Faculty of Education,.University of Malaya.

1. Meaning in
Context

2. Pragmatics
1. shared attitude, beliefs, knowledge
between the speaker and the hearer
a. The mayor denied the criminal’s request
because he is cautious. (he – mayor)
b. The mayor denied the criminal’s request
because he is dangerous. (he –criminal)
Note: Exactly the same sentence except for the adjective
which defines the antecedent of ‘he’ in (a) and (b).
Linguistics for language teachers/Dr. Jessie Grace U. Rubrico

3. 2. Presupposition
• assumption on belief/knowledge implied
by a particular word
a. Have you stopped exercising?
> stopped presupposes . . .
b. Ninoy Aquino was assassinated in 1983.
> assassination presupposes. . .
Linguistics for language teachers/Dr. Jessie Grace U. Rubrico

4. • speaker (S) assumption of the utterance to be
true or known by the hearer (H)
When did you stop smoking?
–you used to smoke
- you no longer smoke
• Constancy under negation
My car is a wreck
My car is not a wreck
presupposition: you have a car

5. 3. DEIXIS – forms used and interpreted based on
the location of the speaker or hearer
• this, here – near the speaker
• that, there – near the listener
• come – go
a. The cobra is coming into the tent
- towards the speaker
b. The cobra is going into the tent
- away from the speaker
Linguistics for language teachers/Dr. Jessie Grace U. Rubrico

6. a) spatial deixis– here, there
b) temporal deixis
– now, then, today,
yesterday, tomorrow
c) person deixis – him, them, etc.
d) things – it, this, these, that, those

7. 4. Inference
- connection between what is said
and what must be meant
a. Jennee is wearing a Calvin Klein.
b. Can I borrow your O’Grady?
Note: (a) Calvin Klein signature design or accessories
(b) O’Grady book on Contemporary Linguistics
Linguistics for language teachers/Dr. Jessie Grace U. Rubrico

8. 5. Anaphora – referring back
a. We saw a lady washing a puppy in a small
bath. When she let go, it jumped out of the
small bath.
• lady, puppy – antecedents
• she, it - anaphora
b. I was waiting for the cab, but he just drove
by without stopping.
• antecedent – bus ; anaphora – he
• If X is a bus, then X has a driver
– inference

9. 6. Speech Acts
• type of action performed by speaker
with the utterance
• command
• request
• promise
• question
• information

10. Direct speech act
• asks information
• Did you dine out last night?
• Are they coming?
• Can they sing well?

11. Performatives
• direct speech act with verbs whose action is
a speech act
• I assert that UM will beat USM in the
ranking.
• I promise to take her to the resto?
• I order John to eat the meal.
• declarative, interrogative, imperative

12. Structure Function
You can drive Declarative Statement
a car
Can you drive a Interrogative Question
car?
Drive the car Imperative Command/
(please) Request
Linguistics for language teachers/Dr. Jessie Grace U. Rubrico

13. Identifying performatives
Which of these use the verb promise as PERFORMATIVE?
1. I promise to take Zoe to dinner tonight.
2. Zoe promises to take me to dinner tonight.
3. I will promise to take Zoe to dinner tonight.
Hints
(a) subject of the verb must be “I”; performative
is about an interaction between speaker
and hearers.
(b) Performatives must take place in the present.

14. Felicity Conditions
• allow us to determine under when it is
appropriate to ask questions, give
commands, and so forth.

15. Felicity Conditions: Asking Questions
S questions H about X (a mutual friend)
1. S does not know the truth about X.
2. S wants to know the truth about X.
3. S believes H may know the truth about X.
Assumptions:
1. if someone asks a question, s/he doesn't know the answer to
the question > inherent in condition #1.
2. If someone asks, s/he actually wants to know the truth. (#2)
3. If someone asks you, they think you may know the truth
(or answer). (#3)

16. Felicity Conditions: Promise
S promises H to do Y:
1. S believes H wants Y done.
2. S is able to do Y.
3. S is willing to do Y.

17. Felicity Conditions: Requests
S requests H to do Z (action):
1. Speaker believes that Z has not yet been
done.
2. Speaker believes that Hearer is able to do Z.
3. Speaker believes that Hearer is willing to do
Z-type things for S.

18. Indirect speech act
a. Can you meet me tonight?
• structure: interrogative
• function: request
b. You left the door open.
• structure: declarative
• function : request

19. c. Can you open the door for me?
- the speaker is requesting, not asking about the
ability of the listener to open the door
d1. Do you know where the bus stop is?
d2. Yes, I know where it is
(and walks away)
(1) request for help in finding the bus stop
(2) reads the speech act of (1) as a question,
not as a request.

20. 7. Politeness
• awareness of and consideration for
another person’s face
• FACE : person’s public image
• emotional and social sense of self
everyone has and expects everyone
else to recognize

21. • face-threatening act
- threatens a person’s image
Give me that book! – S conveys he/she has
social power over the H
• face-saving act
-lessens the possible threat
Could you give me that book?
– less threatening
- removes the assumption of social power

22. Negative face
• the need to be independent and free
from imposition
• face-saving act: show concern
about imposition
– I’m sorry to bother you, but …

23. Positive face
• the need to be connected, to belong
• face-saving act
• show solidarity
• rally to a common goal
• let’s do this together. . .
• we have the same problem

24. References
• O'Grady, William D., Archibald, John,
[eds.] (2009). Contemporary Linguistic
Analysis: An Introduction, 6th edition.
Ontario: Pearson Education Canada.
• Yule G. 2006. The study of language.
Cambridge: CUP.