Pragmatics
The process by which hearers and readers construct meaning beyond what is literally provided in the language is known as:
(a) mutual assumptions
(b) interference
(c) implicature
(d) inference
(d) inference
The relationship between words and things is referred to as: (A) deixis (B) stance (C) reference (D) relation
(C) reference
A discourse framework that pertains to the ways in which topics, people, ideas, memories, and events are introduced into the discourse and referred to later in the discourse is known as:
(A) information structure
(B) discourse structure
(C) cohesion
(D) intonation units
(A) information structure
TRUE or FALSE? Discourse can be defined as the social and cognitive process that reflects, creates, shapes, re-creates, and reifies meaning in the lifeworld.
TRUE
Give an example of a conversational implicature.
Student: My dog ate my homework.
Teacher: Come on, I wasn't born yesterday.
What are narratives?
A discursive genre, a story with a purpose.
Give an example of a highly specific and a generic reference for the same thing.
Highly specific: the Prince of England
Generic: a man
What do you call the vocal fluctuations in discourse?
prosody
Name two types of discursive genres.
Narrative, cookbook recipe, news report, monologue, graduation speech, etc.
List and explain Grice's four maxims.
(1) Quantity - not too little, not too much
(2) Quality - tell the truth
(3) Relation - be relevant
(4) Manner - be perspicuous (clear, brief, orderly)
Explain what modality is and give two examples.
The medium through which communication takes place. Ex.: face-to-face, telephonic, audio/video, chat, etc.
Give a specific context in which you would say each of the following:
(1) Would you like a Belgian chocolate?
(2) Would you like one?
(3) Would you like it?
(1) The chocolate is new to the interlocutor.
(2) The interlocutor sees the chocolates on the table.
(3) There is one chocolate sitting on the table.
What is a general difference in the use of the indefinite and definite article in English?
New information = indefinite or no article
Given information = definite article
Explain the phrase: "Nothing in discourse is neutral."
Stance is always somehow encoded (in linguistic and non-linguistic features).
Name and explain the difference between the three types of speech acts according to Austin.
Locutionary - expressing propositional content or information just by virtue of saying something
Illocutionary - interactional function of utterance (request, invitation, question, complaint, etc.)
Perlocutionary - change takes place as result of speaker having produced a speech act and the hearer having understood it (granting requests, addressing complaint, etc.)
Give two possible differences between oral and written discourse.
Register, responsiveness, tone of voice, spontaneity, etc.
Explain the relationship between deixis and shifters. Give an example.
Deixis = expression used to "point at" something
Shifters = Deictic expressions used to refer to specific referents, which can change throughout discourse (i.e.: I, you)
What is the difference between "endophora" and "exophora"? Give an example of each.
Endophora = the act of reference to an item within the text itself
Exophora = the act of reference to an item outside of the text itself
In a participation framework, what's the difference between auditors, overhearers, and eavesdroppers?
Auditors - those for whom the message was intended Overhearers - those present who involuntarily hear a conversation Eavesdroppers - those who make a conscious effort to hear a conversation that it not intended for them
Searle puts forth five categories of illocutionary acts: representatives, directives, commissives, expressives, and declarations. Give an example of FOUR of these.
Representatives - asserting, reporting, informing, claiming, stating a fact
Directives - requesting, suggesting, commanding, asking, ordering, questioning, seeking confirmation, seeking info, how-to instructions, rhetorical questions
Commissives - promising, vowing, swearing, threatening, pledging, offering
Expressives - apologizing, welcoming, congratulating, thanking, cheering
Declarations - resigning, firing, hiring, excommunicating, declaring war, appointing, bequeathing, christening, ordaining, establishing an official role
Explain register in terms of grammatical, lexical and prosodical features. Use examples from English.
Grammatical, lexical, and prosodical features of discourse that together signal or index membership in a certain group. Grammatical: "You gonna go?" vs. "Are you going to go?" Lexical: "Freaked out" vs. "scared" Prosodical: tone
Besides relative location to the speaker, explain what the differences (2) between this/these and that/those may be in terms of stance. (Strauss 1993, 2002)
This/these = drawing listener's attention with high degree of focus, also designating the referent as "new" or "as if it were new"
That/those = drawing listener's attention with medium degree of focus, also designating the referent as "shared"
What are the three functional categories of intonation units? Name and describe each one.
Substantive - carrying the propositional content of the intonation unit
Regulatory - typically in the form of discourse markers like "I see, um, oh, but..."
Fragmentary - typically truncated units, speech stopped in the middle
It has been said that the intonation unit can serve as a window into human consciousness. Explain this as it relates to given, accessible, and new information.
Active consciousness = given info
Semi-active consciousness = accessible info
Inactive consciousness = new info