Pragmatics

What is Pragmatics?

100

Which one of the following is NOT studied within the field of Pragmatics? (A) speech acts, (B) presuppositions, (C)politeness, (D) none of the above

(D) none of the above

200

What is the main difference between semantics and pragmatics?

Semantics is concerned with word meaning whereas pragmatics is concerned with meaning in CONTEXT.

300

What is mutual knowledge? Explain it and give an example.

It is the information that the speaker and the interlocutor share that can assist in the interpretation of a given message.

400

What is inference? Explain it and give an example.

That which an interlocutor deduces based on grammatical, lexical, and context clues.

500

Grice explained that there can be "interesting discrepancies between speaker meaning (meaning-nn) and sentence meaning". Explain what he meant by this.

Surface meaning vs. deeper meaning. "I love Trump!" on the surface seems like the speaker appreciates the U.S. President. But said by someone else (in a given context), it can mean the exact opposite.

Deixis

100

Which one of the following could be considered a deictic expression? (A) this, (B) you, (C) computer, (D) A & B, (E) B & C.

(D) A & B

200

Explain temporal deixis.

Those used to point to a time. Examples: now, then , last week

300

What is another word for "deictic" expressions?

Deixis

400

What is a presupposition?

An assumption made by the speaker.

500

Examples of spatial deixis.

Here, there, near that.

Context

100

Mention the two kind of contexts.

Linguistic context and physical context.

200

Explain linguistic context.

The words or set of words used in the same sentence.

300

Explain physical context.

The physical location where a word is written on.

400

Give an example where context can make a difference in understanding an expression.

.......

500

What is an inference?

Additional information known by the listener or reader.

Various

100

What is an indirect speech act?

When a utterance is used to express an idea in a format that is not usually the one used by the speakers.

200

What maxim is broken in speaker B's utterance and what implicature is created? A: I wonder if there's a test today... // B: The desks are all separated.

Maxim of Relevance - implicates that there IS in fact a test today.

300

What does it mean for an implicature to be cancelable? Give an example.

That the listener's interpretation can be said to be wrong and be corrected by the speaker. A: Is the teacher here yet? // B: The computer is on. /// Interpretation: Yes, she is because she turned the computer on. But I could say no, that I meant the computer was left on by the previous teacher so she's probably not here yet.

400

Explain what a conventional implicature is and give an example.

Non-truth-conditional inferences that are NOT derived from pragmatic principles like maxims, but rather are associated by convention with certain lexical items or expressions. (but, and, therefore, even, yet)

500

Describe the four properties of conversational implicatures that Grice put forth: cancelability, non-detachability, calculability, and non-conventionality.

Cancelability: can be said implicature is wrong; Non-detachability: you should be able to replace words in the utterance with synonyms and still get the same implicature; Calculability: referring to the maxims we can assume that the speaker said something that does in fact on a deeper level obey the maxims and follow the Cooperative Principle; Non-conventionality: not part of the inherent meaning of linguistic expressions (beyond semantics).

Potpourri

100

A sentence such as "WAR IS WAR" is considered: (A) ambiguous (B) a metaphor (C) a tautology (D) anaphoric.

(C) a tautology

200

Explain the concept of honorifics and give an example.

Terms used to denote relative rank or respect, social hierarchy. Familiar vs. formal treatment, ex: 2nd person pronouns.

300

What is the difference between "sentence" and "utterance"?

A sentence is an abstract theoretical entity defined within a theory of grammar, while an utterance is a fragment or sentence within a context.

400

Explain the difference between a generalized and particularized conversational implicature and give an example of each.

Generalized: those that arise without any particular context (engrained in grammar and semantics). Particularized: require a specific context to be interpreted. G: A car got stolen in my neighborhood. (not my car) P: A: Do you recommend the coffee from that cafe? // B: If you like drinking toilet water.

500

Explain the difference between nominal, predicative, and sentential metaphors. Then explain how a metaphor is interpreted. Be sure to use the word "simile" and "maxims" in your answer.

Nominal: SO or STh is N. (Jamie is a leech.) Predicative: SO or STh . (John just kept trucking.) Sentential: entire sentence is a metaphor. (The beast reared its ugly head.) // A metaphor is interpreted by converting it into a simile using "like" or "as" (easier to process) and by assuming the speaker is following the maxims despite the fact that on the surface he may seem to be flouting one or more (especially Quality or Relevance).